The Sevens
by Madame Mayhem
Summary: Sometimes, things can go more differently this way than they do that way. So just how big could those changes be, if Hinata were placed on Team Seven as opposed to Sakura? Hopefully the ripples of divergence are not too dire.
1. Chapter one: Analysis

**Author's Note: **All the stories I found with this idea were left unfinished, which is very saddening. So I figured I'd give it a good go, hope you enjoy the first chapter.

_© Anime by Masashi Kishimoto_

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**Chapter One**

_Analysis_

* * *

There had been quite the number of graduates this year, meaning there were _many_ potentially talented shinobi, so undoubtedly there would be three teams hopefully consisting of the usual three members. Nine rookies. Nine rookies who would need good leaders, sensei, if their real potential was to be fleshed out. Given Kakashi's skill as a Jounin, the fact that Hiruzen wanted him to take on a Genin team of his own came as very little surprise to him.

But, Kakashi had been pretty reluctant on accepting the Hokage's offer. As over the years he has encountered many newly made squads. He had been assigned to a variety of them and they all seemed to be the same; nothing more than a cluster of immature children.

They were always so certain of themselves, believing they could do anything and everything on their own, missing the entirety of being grouped into teams in the first place.

There was more to how a ninja opperated than what was seen on the surface, there was more to being one in general. No one, not even the strongest of ninja, can do anything on their own.

They always came to the notion that they didn't need each other. They belittled one another and underestimated one or the other's abilities. Which would only lead to the age old "every ninja for himself" situation during Kakashi's bell test.

They took one another for granted and acted as if they didn't care much for each other in general. It definitely did a fine job of disgusting Kakashi, which was why he had no remorse when he failed all those teams. Their expressions of shock always made up for the utter disappointment they showed him. They were very lucky to have each other, they just didn't see it at the time. Your team was your rock, the people who would always be there for you when no one else is. Who will believe in you when no one else does.

Kakashi missed his old comrades achingly, he'd give the world and more to have them back. Because teammates were a treasure, and if his students couldn't even understand _that_... well, then they had no place in the ninja world simply put.

Whether his new team would be any different, well he'd see for himself. But, he'd be lying if he said he didn't have any low expectations from them.

He'd seen this years graduates many times, he hung silently around the Academy from time to time for at least the entirety of their final year. For observational purposes of course, to analyse where they were as far as ability.

Kakashi Hatake was no child predator, his curiosity merely got the better of him. Curious to see if this year's graduates could really cut it as ninja.

Many of them stuck out, like Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba. All because of the respective clans that they all hailed from. Each with it's own notoriety within the village. But the one's who stuck out the most were the Jinchuriki, the surviving Uchiha, and the pink haired civilian girl.

Naruto Uzumaki, the vessel for the beast who attacked the village twelve years ago. Leaving many of the villagers dead or brutally injured in it's wake. He was... quite the little trouble maker, but what did one expect? He'd been ignored his entire life, treated like some outsider; like he didn't belong. His actions were fueled by the people around him and their own actions towards him. You don't look his way? Then he'll do everything to make you look. If making a fool of himself and causing trouble were the only types of ways for him to get the interaction that he craved, then so be it in his mind. The boy was practically starving for the attention that people refused to give him.

As far as his skill went, he was very poor. For reasons that were not his fault, but the Kyuubi's. Naruto, he had large reserves all on his own, but the immense power of the fox demon in addition to it made chakra control immensely difficult for him. The more of it you had, the harder it was to mold and disperse. He could do the simpler jutsu, like the henge technique, with no trouble. But some proved to be more complicated for him, like the clone jutsu. He never had anyone sit him down and show him how to do something either, to tell him what he was doing wrong so he could fix it. As result, he was poor in a lot of his skill points.

He wasn't book smart either, he was more of a powerhouse. Someone with a more than acceptional amount of stamina and strength for his current age, who could keep fighting and using jutsu for a long time without growing fatigued. Though despite that, he was the worst student of his year.

Sasuke Uchiha, the only one who had been left alive during his family's genocide. The crime which was committed at the hands of his elder brother, Itachi. No one was very clear on the reasoning to which Itachi left him alive, and no one dared ask if Sasuke had known himself. That night changed him, possibly for the worse.

He was the best in the year, as far as physical ability. Having mastered jutsu that someone of his age, who isn't even a ninja yet, should not have known how to do. He was one of the quickest learners, non surprising given his status as a genius and prodigy, and he was very handy with ninja tools. Something that was extremely common with that specific clan.

He, however, was _very_ uncooperative, refusing help from anyone as he thought they'd only get in his way. In his mind, everyone was below him and thus useless. He would've been number one in his class, had it not been for his failing grades in teamwork and communication. Due to this the Yamanaka girl came out on top. He was one of those "ninja" that Kakashi didn't really care for, but at the same time Sasuke was very intriguing. He reminded him a lot of himself when he was that age.

Sakura Haruno was a girl who wasn't very impressive when it came to strength, combat, and jutsu. But she seemed to make up for it in her intelligence. She was the straight-A honorary student who knew information outside of what you learn in the Academy. Her knowledge was far outside the basics of the Academy, she knew things that should've been far too difficult for someone at her level to learn. He's seen her, on rare occasion, reading Chuunin and Jounin level material during his student scoping.

It was quite impressive, but the disappointing part was that she was a preteen girl. At that age she was more interested in boys, Sasuke to be exact, and the way she looked instead of any actual ninja training. Which would probably explain her physical lacking. She was unfortunately just like the other girls in class, in terms of how she acted.

They were each a bit odd in their own right, but interesting to the copy ninja. They reminded him of his old team, Naruto's father being his old sensei making it even more so.

The Jounin were all set to gather in the Hokage Tower, to discuss the team formations of the students. For orientation was to begin the very next morning. And, as usual, Kakashi was the last to arrive. Making everyone wait another hour and a half while he burned time at the Memorial Stone, speaking to Rin and Obito just like he did at the beginning and end of every day.

Some Jounin, like Kurenai, simply rolled their eyes at the pitiful excuse he had made. While others, like Asuma, only laughed at him. They fully expected something like this from him.

Kakashi's tardiness was due to his losing track of time while reminiscing in front of that stone, but using the same excuses that Obito use to when he was late for something was Kakashi's personal way of keeping him alive. Sometimes, it just helped in easing his depression a little. Even if it was only temporarily.

Once Hiruzen was sure everyone was present and accounted for, he began. "There has been a change in the team formations, I first must say." he said, taking his pipe out of his mouth.

"What type of change?" Asuma questioned.

"A change that results in each team now having the standard three members." Hiruzen answered, making some people perk up in curiosity.

"How?" Kurenai inquired next. "There were only twenty-six graduates this year, you said one of the teams would be a two man group."

"That, or two teams would be a four man group." Kakashi added, Kurenai quickly nodding in agreement.

The odds between both options would probably be in the favor of the former, as with a two person group the Jounin would be able to give more attention and training to the two equally. The amount they could learn from their respective teacher could possibly even increase.

To get these same results with the later could be done, but it certainly wouldn't be an easy feat. It was a tad challenging just to teach three, teaching four would only make it more so. The more students you had, the harder you had to try to give them the amount of attention they require.

It was too bad, Kakashi had been more than willing to teach the two man team. Especially if the Uchiha were to possibly be on it.

Hiruzen shook his head. "Uzumaki Naruto has been passed, the number of graduates is now twenty-seven. Making nine teams of three."

They all seemed a bit surprised, but nodded. "Well then ... how did he pass if he failed his Genin exam?" Kurenai asked once again, making the Hokage chuckle.

"Iruka passed him, following the ordeal with Mizuki." he answered, and it was no wonder. After hearing from Iruka about all the clones, Shadow clones at that, he produced in that forest, it was clear his level of skill was higher than it appeared to be. If he was able to master such an advanced technique in a only matter of hours.

"I can understand why ..." Asuma muttered underneath his breath.

"Now that each team will have it's capacity of members, we may discuss who goes where." He turned to Kurenai. "Yuuhi Kurenai, I believe the team you will lead is to specialize in tracking. Correct?"

She nodded. "Yes, that's right."

"Judging off of their skills, the three Genin who would work the best under that area are ... Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata." he stated, skimming over their files that he had off to the side.

They did sound like they would be a good tracking team, Kiba had just as good a sense of smell as any hound. Just like anyone else from his clan, he'd be able to find his target just from tracking them by their scent.

Shino's "critters" could not only warn him of approaching enemies, certain bugs of his could be used to track down the enemy if placed on them. They'd be able to tail them with ease.

The Hyuuga clan's Doujutsu, Byakugan, grants near three-hundred and sixty degree vision. Upon its activation, the wielder is granted an automatic 50 metre field of vision around themselves which can then be extended at their discretion. As well as the ability to see through solid objects. It would be very useful in scoping from a distance, she wouldn't have to change her position (at least not very often).

At best, the Hyuuga seemed like she'd be the better member when it came to tracking. Her or Kiba.

"They will be your new team." he concluded. "Kakashi, you are to be the front line assault team?"

"Yes,"

Hiruzen put Team Eight's files away and pulled three more out in front of him, opening them. "Hmmm ... just as I thought. From what I can see here, the best combination for a team of that nature is ..." he trailed. "... Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Saku—"

"Actually Hokage-sama," Kakashi cut off. "I have a suggestion, if you don't mind of course." Hiruzen nodded, signaling for him to go on. "I think it would be better if Hinata were placed on _my_ team instead."

The Jounin were staring at him. "Really now? And why is that Kakashi?" he asked. "Kurenai's team is a well constructed one, consisting of the three Genin who would have best tracking abilities. Do you not think this is good?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Oh no, it isn't bad thinking. Grouping together students with similar skills, well, that's what some would want in a team. It's good, I guess." He shrugged. "But, too much of something good can turn into something bad."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

"Gladly," His only visible eye crinkled closed, he was smiling. "while it may seem so I don't believe it's very wise to group together only students of that caliber. There are risks that come along with that, one's that could put the whole team in jeopardy if they aren't careful."

"Like?"

"Like a trap," he answered. "they may be good at seeking people out, but what about their abilities to see through deception? Someone with a great eye and intelligence level would do well for that, someone like Haruno Sakura."

The Hokage hummed. "So then, you think Sakura and Hinata's team placement should be switched?" Kakashi answered with a 'yes'. "Why is that? You strike a point with Sakura, but what makes you think Hinata would be a better candidate for your team?"

Even though his only purpose of checking on them all at the Academy was to assess where they were ability wise, he saw just a little more than that. Hinata interacted with absolutely no one, she always shrank back and kept out of everything. This and how she always stayed in the background, refusing to really meet the gazes of anyone, gave off the vibe that she was quite the shrinking violet. She also appeared to be pretty unconfident, she didn't seem to be very pleased with the things she could already do.

Kakashi hadn't known it, but her father Hiashi had to do with that. While training at home she was always compared to her younger sibling Hanabi, her father always told her how she showed far more promise than Hinata. That she would make a better clan leader than herself, and Hinata would get nowhere if she didn't shape up.

He called her many things, ranging from a weakling to a disappointment. Stating to her that her lack of complete grasp of the Hyuuga fighting style was utterly pitiful. In his mind, telling her these things was a way to give Hinata incentive; a drive to better herself. Inside he knew Hinata was capable, he was just trying to draw it out of her.

But this tactic wasn't the better way to do it, as it had the opposite effect of what he wanted. Instead, it caused her to developed some self-esteem issues. It caused her to not believe in herself very much all together, to doubt her ability as both a ninja and Hyuuga clan member as opposed to trying to improve it.

"She's someone with a low level of self-esteem, it could affect her performance if nothing's done about it." Kakashi answered. "I feel she should be on a team with at least one person who can encourage her strengths, that's where Naruto comes in." Naruto was the type to never give up on himself, or anybody else. "It would prove to be very beneficial towards her development and growth as a kunoichi. She may not seem like the 'front liner' type at the moment, but with someone like Naruto influencing her that's sure to change. She'll need it if she wants to truly bloom in her ninja career."

Hiruzen nodded. "That's plausible..."

"It would be good for Naruto as well." the copy ninja added. "He'll need reassurance and someone of his peer group who believes in him, if he's to really evolve. And I highly doubt he would get something like that from Sasuke and Sakura, this would help the team dynamic." he explained, from what he's seen of her; Hinata was the only one in his class to really pay Naruto any mind.

It reminded him of his late teammates, Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha. Rin always acknowledged Obito's strength and potential, a lot more so than his own clan did. His shaping up into such a fine willed and skilled shinobi was the result of having that one person who believed he could be so much more than some 'dead last'.

"I also think it would do good, having a tracker in our midst. With someone like that on my team, we'd be even less likely to lose track of something or someone. Not to mention, collecting information would be much more efficient. Since that Byakugan of hers would be able to easily find our target with it's degree and distance of vision, is what I mean. Things, missions, could go a lot smoother."

It would probably even help Sasuke, as Hinata would not give him any problems. Without Sakura there clinging to him like glue, the relationship amongst the team would not be as strained.

Hiruzen nodded. "I see your point," he said, leaning back in his chair. "But, regarding Hinata, how can you be certain this will help any personal issue of hers?"

"It takes only one person to make a difference in someone, Hokage-sama." Kakashi answered, and Hiruzen cracked a smirk.

"I suppose you're correct about that, Kakashi." His smirk then fell, maybe he wasn't there enough for Orochimaru. Had he been, the outcome of the snake man's actions could have been so very different. "Very well Kakashi, Haruno Sakura will be placed with Kurenai instead." He turned to the red eyed woman. "Any objection?"

"Not in the slightest," she replied, shaking her head. "he drives a very fine point."

"I agree," Asuma piped. "I think this will better both teams."

Hiruzen turned back to Kakashi. "Hyuuga Hinata shall be placed with you, I'd also like for you to keep me updated on her development. Along with Uchiha Sasuke's and Uzumaki Naruto's."

Kakashi nodded. "Understood."

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO**!

* * *

Hinata sat quietly in her now old classroom, while other students stepped in now and then and took their own seat.

She was worried, she had been ever since she found out Naruto had failed. He would still be an Academy student while she was out doing missions, when would she ever get to see him again? This wasn't like their childhood days, when she could just admire him from afar and remain content. They would be from two different world's now.

That made her feel even worse, since she never even had the courage to tell him how she felt. And, maybe now, she would never have the chance. She had all the chance to tell him before, but instead she played the role of the coward. As always.

She wished she were as brave and bold as Naruto, it was what she loved about him the most. Because he was exactly what she wanted to be, heroic.

By now, nearly the entire class had been filled with their graduating class. Not like she'd noticed it however, for she'd been far too lost in her own thoughts and worries to even pay attention. It wasn't until she heard the familiar voice of Shikamaru, speaking to her possibly favorite person.

"What are you doing here Naruto?" Her head snapped in their direction and her eyes widened at the sight of him, her mouth hanging open a little.

There he was, with a hitai-ate tied tightly around his head. Naruto. _'Naruto-kun... he passed after all ...' s_he thought happily to herself, it was a big relief. It gave her the hope that she'd see him more often than she previously thought.

It was then that Sakura and Ino burst into the room, startling the Hyuuga girl for the most part (as she was seated near the entrance), arguing about who made it in first. She glanced at Naruto, her heart jumping when she saw he was looking in her direction.

_'I-Is he looking at ... m-me?' _She saw a small blush spread over his cheeks, making a brighter one spread over hers. Her pale complexion didn't help very much, why was he looking at her that way? Did he ...

She saw Sakura quickly jog past her, Ino questioning where she was going, and towards Naruto. His face brightened up even more, and it was then that the white eyed girl realized he had been looking at Sakura the whole time.

Her heart sank as she sighed in anguish, she was silly for even assuming something like that. He never even noticed her, why look her way now?

He stood up and waved when she approached, "Good morning, Sakura-chan!"

"Get out of my way!" she snapped, quickly shoving Naruto to the side. Knocking him onto the ground, for the sole reason of asking Sasuke if she could have the seat beside him. To which the Uchiha gave a glare that the pink haired girl seemed to not even pick up on. Too busy awaiting his answer.

Hinata was sad to see Naruto shoved away from someone he was very fond of that way. But at the same time, she was very happy to see his feelings for Sakura were completely unrequited. She felt guilty for feeling that way about his situation, in her mind that made her bad and selfish. It was like what she wanted was more important than his own happiness.

Though, there was that small portion in the back of her mind that didn't seem to care though. He would never be happy with someone like Sakura. To Hinata, Sakura was too much of a brute. Or, at least that was what she saw. She was only ever hitting Naruto it appeared. Her dislike for Ino was far more than her dislike for Naruto, yet she's never laid a hand on the blonde haired girl.

To Hinata, that was a bit unfair. Especially because of how Naruto felt on his end.

Ino was quick to interject, challenging the apparent right that Sakura had for that seat. Claiming she should get it, since she 'deserved' it for beating the Haruno to the door.

Sakura threw a menacing glare over her shoulder, towards her rival. "Beat it hog, I was here first!" she snarled out, then her attention was drawn to a separate girl who decided to step up.

"I was here before any of you, I should get to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" That ended in every female in class, aside from Hinata, to mob together. Arguing over who got the privilege to sit right next to the mysterious boy.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle, the way they were behaving over a boy who failed to notice them (or he ignored them, it was hard to tell in his case) was very silly. But she kind of envied them a little. They may have been pushy with their affection, but they had enough guts to make it clear to Sasuke how they felt about him.

Naruto ended up walking around to Sasuke's end, climbing onto his desk so he could glare at him from a close proximity. Sasuke more than willingly returned his look of clear dislike, this seemed to provoke Sasuke's "army" even more. It was made even worse by the boy behind him's lack of awareness, which made him lean back and bump into Naruto.

In turn making Naruto fall onto Sasuke, it made them kiss by mistake. All was quiet while the two shoved each other away, coughing and spitting while they wiped their mouths off. As soon as Sakura screamed, it made the other girls follow. Like a domino effect, the looks of pure anger they gave Naruto made evident that this was not going to end too well for him.

_'Poor Naruto-kun ...' _Hinata trailed in her head, watching as some of them began to crack their fists. They all beat him senseless, their jealousy of him being Sasuke's first kiss was put into the blows from their fists.

Hinata didn't want to just sit there and watch, but she couldn't seem to look away. She was too scared to intervene, but she knew someone had to do something. Before things escalated even further.

When she finally worked up the nerve to, she began to stand up. But Iruka body flickered into the room before she was all the way up, quickly yelling at them to break it up and take their seats.

Sakura won that spot, and Naruto was right next to her. Looking like he got trampled by a stampede of angry bulls, in a way he kind of did.

The room was quickly filled with gasps and whispers, after Iruka announced everyone would be separated into teams of three. After hearing something like that Hinata was beginning to grow excited, and nervous at the same time, while she twirled her index fingers. Her mind was racing with the thought of possibly being paired together with Naruto, or being separated from him.

"Team Seven, Uchiha Sasuke ... Uzumaki Naruto ..." Naruto scowled, sending a glare at Sasuke. While the Uchiha had a bit of a sour look on his face, ever since Iruka gave them the "news". He wasn't particularly fond of being thrown into some group. Sakura's expression grew into one of hope, staring at Sasuke lovingly as she waited for her (at least what she believed to be) name to be called. ".. and Hyuuga Hinata."

Sakura's eyes widened, and her head snapped back in Iruka's line of direction. "What?!" she and Ino shouted at the same time, then looked at Hinata.

Some girls were muttering words of jealousy or disappointment, but Hinata payed no mind. She couldn't have, did she hear him right? _'I-I'm gonna b-be on... Naruto-kun's t-team?' _Her face was easily as red as a tomato, and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. It was beating so fast she thought it would burst out of her chest at any given moment.

She was surprised she was even still conscious.

Naruto on the other hand was disappointed, since Sakura wouldn't be on his team. And angered, since he'd now have to see Sasuke everyday. "Why do I have to be stuck with him?!" he asked Iruka, standing up and pointing at the Uchiha.

Sakura spoke before her sensei got the chance, "Shut up Naruto!" Sakura snapped, she was already upset; her tone of voice reflected this. His outburst didn't help, he was lucky to be on a team with someone like Sasuke. He should've acted like it. "And sit down!"

Naruto blinked, then frowned. He didn't like it when Sakura yelled at him like that. "That's just how it has to be," Iruka finally answered. "please sit down Naruto." Naruto grumbled something, then plopped back down onto his seat.

He curiously turned around, to get a look at Hinata. And she gasped, quickly looking away from him and down at her desk. Twiddling her thumbs as she grew even more nervous, her blush deepened.

Naruto turned away, sighing as he rested his hand on his cheek. He took her reaction the wrong way.

"Team Eight, Inuzuka Kiba ... Aburame Shino.. and Haruno Sakura." Kiba and Shino remained indifferent, not really caring about the team formation.

But Sakura shivered before slamming her head onto her desk, she hated bugs and wasn't very fond of dogs. "I'm doomed." she sulked, lifting her head back up. She had a big red mark on her forehead from the desk. Ino chuckled from behind, teasing Sakura about it. Only to end up in the same state when her own team was announced.

Being paired with the lazy bum and Mr. Eats-a-lot wasn't exactly what she would call 'great'.

Once the team assignments were complete, everyone was dismissed for an hour lunch break. Sasuke was one of the first ones out of the door, followed by Sakura who tried to keep up with him. And Naruto, who was trying to get Sakura's attention; leaving Hinata alone with her bento.

She looked down at her feet sadly. She should've known better, Sasuke was quite antisocial. And her and Naruto have never even talked before, why would they want to eat lunch with her? She shouldn't have been surprised that they were ditching her like this.

She took her time walking outside, and once she had left the building she caught sight of Sakura walking away from Naruto. He hung his head in disappointment while Sakura walked on, calling out for Sasuke. He figured they could have taken this time to actually get to know one another, since they would be separated after today.

But she had plans to do that with Sasuke instead, she wasn't even the slightest bit interested.

She continued to stare, while he watched his crush walk away. With a defeated sigh, he picked up his head and turned around. Only to see Hinata standing a ways away.

Her heart skipped when she saw him looking, she was staring just like he was. Only his stare was a curious one, he was trying to read her face. Was her expression one of shock, or one of fear? He tilted his head in confusion when her cheeks turned pink, was she sick or something?

"Uhh ... hey." he greeted, giving her an awkward wave while he rubbed the back of his head. "You're Hinata, right?" He knew who she was, but he was only clarifying. Plus he felt he should say something, instead of instigating a staring match.

Hinata gulped, slowly nodding her head. "Y-Yes ..."

"Oh ..." he trailed, then after a short while started to walk over to her. She clutched the cloth of her benton tighter each step that he took, by the time he stopped in front of her her knuckles were whiter than the rest of her hands. "Can I ask you something?" She wanted to speak again, but the words were caught in her throat. So she only nodded. "What do you think about ... being on a team with me? Like, how do you feel about that?"

Why was he asking? He didn't possibly think she had a problem with that, did he? Or maybe he was only curious, she gulped again. To swallow the nervous lump in her throat. "Um, w-well I-I ..." she trailed, then was silent.

Naruto's shoulders sagged, she was nervous around him. She must've been scared, "Never mind, I'll just leave you to yourself." he said, turning around to leave. Her eyes widened.

"W-Wait!" she said, stepping forward. Then stepped back when Naruto turned around.

"Yeah?" Her blush deepened as she tried to think of what to say, then she shifted around on her feet. Her eyes were glancing around at everything.

"I think ... I-I'm very l-lucky." she admitted, catching Naruto off guard.

"Lucky? You really mean that?" When she nodded, he beamed. Making a blush rise up to her face again, for being the cause of that smile. "Wow, I never expected you to say that!" It made him feel better, then a thought crossed his mind. "Hey, since we're gonna be a team and all, do you maybe wanna eat together?" He didn't have anywhere else to go since Sakura turned down his offer. He _definitely_ wasn't going to look for Sasuke.

Her blush deepened at his question, he wanted to eat with her? Oh gosh, she nodded. "Great!" He then smiled sheepishly. "I, uh, don't have any lunch though."

"T-That's okay!" she quickly said, holding up her box lunch. "I h-have a lot, maybe we c-can ... s-share ..."

"Share?" He grinned. "That sounds like a plan, thank you Hinata!" He threw his arms around he and brought her into a hug.

Her entire face turned a burning red, and her mouth fell open. She froze up and began to feel light headed. _'He's ... h-hugging me!' _she thought, beginning to feel a little light headed. Then his stomach growled loudly. Making him pull away, an embarrassed blush on his face.

"I hope you've got enough in there." he joked, laughing. His sunny demeanor made her giggle a little with him.

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO!**

* * *

Naruto did most of the talking while they shared her food, which was fine as Hinata was more of a listener anyway. He talked to her about how excited he was to start going on missions, and how much good he was going to do.

He'd even confided in her of his dream of being Hokage, the best one that Konoha has ever had and seen. That was when she spoke up a little more.

She always believed in Naruto from the very beginning, that he was more than capable of doing whatever it was he put his mind to. When she timidly voiced that she thought he'd make a good Hokage, it made him very happy.

People normally laughed at him for having such dreams, muttering to each other about how no one would want some beast as a leader. Some even directly called him a fool for thinking he could be such a thing, so to hear differently for once was very refreshing for him.

He even joked about making Hinata his trusty assistant, earning a smile from the shy girl. Hearing it put a blush on her face, even though he was only jesting. It made her heart leap all the same.

Lunch soon came to an end and all of the students were back in the classroom, slowly getting picked up by their assigned teachers. Sakura was telling Sasuke about how she was trying to find him during their lunch break, as she wanted to spend some time with him before they had to leave. Since it was unknown when they would see one another again.

"We aren't a team." Sasuke had cut off in the middle of her explanation. "Why would you waste your time searching for me, when you could've been with your teammates? People who probably _actually_ wanted to eat with you."

That statement pierced Sakura right through the heart, making her cease her talking all together and sigh glumly. What Sasuke said sounded rude, but that was only how he spoke. He said what was on his mind without sugar coating it for you. That was just how he was.

Kurenai soon walked into the room, glancing Iruka's way. "I'm here to collect my team," she said, resting her hands onto her hips. Iruka look around at Sakura, Shino, and Kiba.

"Team Eight, your sensei has arrived." he said, Kiba and Shino moving from their spots and towards Kurenai.

"'Bout time." Kiba muttered, making Kurenai narrow her eyes at him. But she ignored it, she looked at the girl who began to move forward. Seeing how she kept taking glances at the Uchiha.

_'She must've really wanted to be on his team.' _Kurenai shook her head, she could only imagine how she'd feel if she found out she almost was.

Sakura sighed again before walking up to her new sensei, and leaving with her new team.

Eventually, Team Seven were the only one's in the room who remained. Iruka had left some time before, while their sensei had yet to show up. It was beginning to irritate Naruto, who wasn't very fond of waiting on someone.

His sensei's lack of arrival made him come to the assumption that he didn't take them very seriously, at least not serious enough to show up on time. If he couldn't do that, what would he do with their training? Would they actually learn anything, or just be underestimated by him? He must have thought them some kind of joke.

All these things he thought about made him even more irritated, so he did the only thing he could do in that moment of time (to ease his nerves and get back at sensei); he pulled a prank.

He stood on top of a stool, wedging a chalkboard eraser in the top of the door. Hinata watched him while Sasuke just couldn't bring himself to care. "U-Um, Naruto-kun?"

"Hm?" He turned around to look at her. "What is it, Hinata?"

"I-I don't think you should do that ..." she trailed, her gaze shifting to the side. "Sensei might get m-mad."

"No he wouldn't," Sasuke scoffed. "Because he's a Jounin. He'd never fall for some idiotic and juvenile trick."

Naruto hopped down from the stool, a devious smirk adorning his face. "You won't be saying that when it happens!" Not too soon after that statement left his mouth, the door opened. The masked man with silver hair known as Kakashi Hatake poked his head through, the eraser falling onto his head. Leaving chalk in his hair.

Sasuke stared at him, not believing that someone of his level actually fell for something so stupid. Hinata stared because she was afraid of how he would react, his silence wasn't helping. She thought his anger was building, to let out a belting scolding.

Naruto on the other hand decided it was priceless, laughing at the fact his bastard of a sensei fell into his trap. "Hahahaha, I _got_ you! That's what you get for being so late!" he exclaimed, pointing at him while he continued his laughter.

Kakashi calmly dusted the chalk from his hair and picked up the eraser, and Naruto's laughter slowly began dying down when he had failed to get a reaction out of him. The copy ninja stared at the object in his hand for a few seconds, before his eye scanned over his students.

The Hyuuga certainly had no part in it, judging from the expression on her face as she stared at Kakashi. The Uchiha appeared to be in shock, for whatever reason Kakashi wasn't aware of; but he didn't seem to hold any part in it either.

But they could've talked him out of it, that coupled with Naruto's clear level of immaturity made him come to a quick conclusion. "... You all must be morons."

They all hung their heads.

Hinata was relieved that Kakashi didn't shout, but she didn't like being called a moron either. Sasuke didn't like being grouped with Naruto in that regard, especially since he did absolutely nothing. The only moron here was the blonde fool, and he had to be stuck on a team with him no less.

_Each_ were stuck with one another, and everyone's feelings on the matter differed.

* * *

**Author's Note: **At first I was just gonna begin with the classroom setting, but when I really thought about it it wouldn't make any sense. There would have to be actual reason for Hinata's team placement being different. Thus, the first part of this chapter was born -insert baby cries-. I hope the reasons given suffice enough.

On a side note, no character bashing in this story is intended.

They say crushing even a butterfly in the past can drastically change the present. While the changes may or may not be drastic, expect divergence in canon due to this little change. But be warned, no big change is gonna be sudden and quick. It's gonna be a bit of a slow burner.

The basis of Kakashi requesting Hinata for his squadron revolve around how he and his team were when they were younger. How Obito was so determined and blooming with confidence because of Rin's encouragement, no matter how often Kakashi may have mocked his abilities. Because she believed in him, it did a lot of good for him as a ninja. (Pointing this out here since I don't think I explained it well above, if even at all)

Similar to how Hinata believes in Naruto, he thinks it will help to better them both. Also, her personality is going to slowly change as the story goes on. Just putting that out there, in case any of you prefer meek, blushing, Naruto obsessed Hinata and all that jazz...

Reviews give me love everyone, so please avoid ghost reading. If you decide to stick around for this tale, then I hope you enjoy it. Criticism is fine by me so long as it's constructive.


	2. Chapter two: Bells

**Author's Note: **Quite the feedback I got, that's great! That means people are liking what's up so far, hope I continue to impress you guys!

_© Anime by Masashi Kishimoto_

* * *

**Chapter Two**

_Bells_

* * *

Kakashi had led his new squadron up to the school's rooftop, under the gazebo. He stood opposite of them, leaned on the railing, while they were seated on the steps in front of him. He crossed his arms. "Well, down to business. I think it's appropriate that we all get aquainted with each other, if we're to be a team."

He knew bits and pieces about them through what he'd observed and put together himself, but not everything. The bulk of what he knew was that, including him, this entire team had some form of emotional baggage. Kakashi's being the depression that he's suffered for years, due to the ghosts of his tragic past still haunting him to this very day.

Naruto shrugged. "Well ... what do you expect us to say?" Naruto questioned, as his teammates neglected to speak a word.

"Well, you know, stuff. Like things you like, dislike, any hobbies and dreams for the future ..." he trailed. "Things of that nature."

Naruto glanced at Hinata and Sasuke, then back at Kakashi. "Tell us stuff about you first, we don't know squat!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "If you really want me to, for starters my name is Hatake Kakashi." he said, then lightly grabbed his chin while humming. "Let's see ... what do I like?"_Visiting Rin and Obito's graves. _"I like a lot of things, now my dislikes ..." _People and things who put my comrades in danger. _"Not too many things I don't like, hobbies?" _Reading Icha Icha._Kakashi chuckled at that thought. "I have a lot of hobbies."

Naruto made a face, not appreciating how he was avoiding everything. "What about your future dream?"

Kakashi stared, thinking about it. _To make sure I never lose anyone precious again. _"... I don't know, I never thought about it." He shrugged.

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "All you told us is your name, how is that even fair?"

"Your turn." he said, ignoring the blonde's question. Making Naruto grumble a little.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms. "I like ramen, especially the kind at Ichiraku's, and pranks. I dislike the three minutes you have to wait for it to cook, and my hobbies are comparing the different types of ramen."

_'So he's a ramen nut? That can't be very healthy ...' _Kakashi trailed in his head. "Dream for the future?" he asked in a bored tone.

Naruto smiled proudly, grabbing his headband. "To be the greatest Hokage! That way everyone will stop disrespecting me, and treat me like sombody important!"

Hinata blushed at Naruto's display of confidence, while explaining his goal. _'He sounds so determined ...'_

"Now you." Kakashi said to Hinata, catching the timid girl off guard.

"M-Me?" she asked, pointing to herself. "Oh, um, my n-name is Hyuuga H-Hinata ..." The stares of everyone was making her grow nervous, even Sasuke was giving her a sideways look. She didn't enjoy having everyone's attention on her, much less speaking publicly. "I-I really like, uh ... t-training sometimes. A-And ..." She glanced at Naruto, her cheeks growing redder before she stared back down at her hands.

"My d-dislikes a-are ..." _Never being good enough, how my Father treats me._ She wanted to say it, but instead she said. "... spicy foods .." She was speaking so low that Naruto had to lean over to hear her, which made her even more flushed. "My h-hobbies are flower pressing a-and g-gardening ..." she trailed, twirling her fingers.

"Your dream?" the masked man egged on.

"Well ... m-my dream i-is," she began, then looked up at Kakashi. "To be a strong ninja, and to prove to my clan that being kind doesn't make you weak." Her saying it with such edge, without even stuttering, came as a surprise to Kakashi.

_'She seems to be very serious regarding that.' _Kakashi thought to himself before glancing at Sasuke, "Last but not least ..." he trailed, signaling for Sasuke to begin.

"... My name ... is Uchiha Sasuke ..." he started off slowly. "I don't particularly like anything, and I dislike _a lot_ of things. My dream is no dream, but an ambition. It will become a reality ..." He wasn't even looking at anyone while he was speaking, only staring coldly at the ground. "... I'm going to restore my clan ... and _kill_ a certain someone."

That was very unsettling, someone so young speaking about murdering someone. Naruto was a bit frightful, assuming the 'certain someone' Sasuke spoke of was him. Hinata felt a chill roll down her spine, she never knew such dark thoughts were in his head.

Sasuke was a difficult book to read, one could only imagine what was truely going on in that mind of his. He didn't make it as obvious, but Sasuke had quite a few self-worth issues. It seemed like his only purpose in life was to gain revenge, to him his life was otherwise meaningless without it. Because he had nothing else but that left.

Hinata's constant belittlement at home made her believe that she was nothing more than a lost cause, a worthless coward even.

Naruto had just as many insecurities as, if not more than, Hinata did. Growing up as lonely and shunned as he had to, he had fears of being alone. Of not being noticed or cared about, that he could die tomorrow and no one would even take notice to it. He had more effective ways of hiding it was all.

Everyone on this team needed much more than Kakashi previously thought, they all needed some emotional tweaking as well. And that was sure to take some work.

Kakashi nodded. "Great, now that we're through with that we can begin our shinobi work first thing tomorrow."

Naruto beamed. "Yeah?! Work like what?"

"Survival training. " he answered, and no one said anything else.

"... Huh?" Naruto said in confusion, Hinata and Sasuke just as perplexed as he was. "Survival training? What would we have to do that for?"

"Y-Yes, sensei!" Hinata stated, quickly agreeing with her blonde haired crush. "We already did p-plenty of survival training at the A-Academy, I don't understand ... why would we have to do it again?"

"Well, yes that's right Hinata." Kakashi said as he nodded. "But this is a _different_ type of training."

"What kind is it then?" Naruto questioned. "What are we suppose to be doing, what's the point of it?"

"The point of this survival test, is that it determines whether you stay on this team or not." he answered. Naruto and Hinata's eyes widening, the white eyed girl letting out a gasp, while Sasuke's gaze snapped up to his sensei in alarm.

"S-Stay on the t-team?" Hinata stammered out.

"Are you kidding? What kind of—" Naruto cut himself off, not believing what he was hearing. "Why would it determine something like that?! We all passed, that should be it, believe it!"

Kakashi chuckled, shaking his head. "You mean the Genin exam you took at the Academy? Oh no, I don't think so, that wasn't the real test. That was only to determine how many students had the _potential_ to be ninja." He pointed a thumb at himself. "Your _real_ test is with me."

Hinata was clutching the sleeves to her jacket, squeezing them tightly. "S-So, you're s-saying ... w-we still aren't n-ninja y-yet?"

"Precisely," The copy ninja replied. "and there's a chance that you won't be."

_'I might be s-separated from N-Naruto-kun ...' _Hinata nervously thought, looking at Naruto as she squeezed her sleeves even more.

"W-Won't be?" Naruto repeated.

"Of the twenty-seven people that graduated, only nine can actually become ninja. Only three teams can be passed on, and my test has a sixty-six percent chance of failure." he explained.

"Wha— b-but ... that's not—" Naruto sputtered, his reaction expected. Hinata gulped, her stomach churning, she felt even more nervous than before. And Sasuke, he was glaring daggers at Kakashi. His hands clenched together.

Kakashi smirked underneath his mask. "I want you to meet me at Training Ground Three first thing tomorrow morning, five o'clock _sharp_. I would advise you don't eat breakfast either, as this training is going to be very harsh. Don't need you throwing up, now do we?"

He'd see if these children had what it took to be on his team, hopefully they wouldn't disappoint.

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO!**

* * *

Hinata had gotten there a few minutes early, standing in the middle of the training ground alone as result. This alone time made her think about the things Kakashi had told them, about this survival test.

It was very troubling, how something as simple as a test would cause two-thirds of the graduates to lose their rightly earned hitai-ates. It was troubling, and at the same time seemingly unfair. She didn't understand why the Jounin instructors had to test them a second time.

Surely, if they showed the potential to be shinobi during the first examination then they should be able to remain ninja. Right? What was the second test suppose to prove, clearly there would be no difference in what the graduates could do.

But, then again, the Academy's test was only to do a simple clone jutsu. According to Kakashi, this was an exam to test their abilities. But that should only prove in favor of the Genin, because they should by now have the skills that reflect their rank.

So, why this test? What would be the point of it?

The other things her sensei told them, about getting up early and not being late, made her curious about her teammates. Did Naruto and Sasuke get enough sleep? She surely did.

She was questioned by Hiashi when she arrived home about a lot of things, first and foremost who her teammates were. He wasn't very pleased when she informed him that Sasuke was her teammate, for he was an arrogant Uchiha. How highly everyone spoke of him, the attention he was given, was viewed as very overrated to the clan head.

He was even more displeased with the knowledge that Naruto was her second team member, the Jinchuriki. He spoke nothing of that, not wanting to discuss him any further. Not even wanting to think about it.

To him the only possible upside to her squad formation was the fact Kakashi was it's leader, her stating this lead to her explanation of what was said on the school's rooftop. About the survival test and her sensei's expectations.

He instructed her to go to bed early, so she'd still get her eight hours of sleep. And most of all, she was not to skip breakfast. "That's preposterous," Was what Hiashi said, after Hinata informed him of Kakashi's instruction to not eat.

"There are far too many consequences to not eating breakfast, the first and foremost being you would be without proper energy." Hiashi had explained. "Eat lightly when you wake in the morning, that should be common sense. Don't be so _foolish,_ as to believe something so idiotic."

She complied, getting her needed rest and eating a hot, hearty breakfast. Enough that would leave her stomach satisfied until it was time for lunch.

She could see Naruto and Sasuke slowly approaching from opposite ends of the field, her eyes shifted between them as she twisted the straps to her backpack. "G-Good morning ..." she greeted them both once they stopped near her, her voice was low. But they'd heard.

Naruto made a sound that wasn't very decipherable, dropping his bag onto the ground and falling down into the grass. Sasuke only grunted a response, and there was no more after that.

Naruto was far too tired to act like his cheery self and start conversation, Hinata didn't know what to say to either of them while Sasuke just plain didn't care enough. The morning was a very quiet one, Naruto catching up on his sleep, while the hours went by waiting for Kakashi.

That was fine by them, the silence at least. Naruto was unaware of the waiting period, due to his current slumber. Sasuke was annoyed, if Kakashi was going to set a time for them to meet up then he should make sure he's there on time as well. Otherwise the Jounin should have chosen a later rendezvous time.

Hinata was growing agitated, the wait was nerve racking. What was Kakashi's purpose for having them wait like this, was it possible he was trying to toy with them psychologically? The thought of it was very stressful.

Before either of them could think of it even further, there was a pop of smoke in front of them. As Kakashi Body Flickered to them. "Good morning everyone!" Hinata sighed in relief, realizing he was only being late again, as Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Kakashi's sudden appearance shook Naruto from his sleep, he rubbed his eyes. When he opened them he squinted, from the brightness of the sun. He was confused, last he remembered it was still dark. What time was it? Far past five o'clock definitely.

He finally noticed his sensei, then quickly stood up. He had to have just gotten here. "You're late!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Well, I guess I am aren't I?" Kakashi shrugged. "A black cat crossed my path, I had to take the longer route."

They all stared, he was really using an excuse like that? Was this going to be some sort of regular thing with him? Hopefully not, because what was most frustrating was the fact he could do it if he pleased. He was a Jounin, whatever he did while making them wait was otherwise none of their business. All three were aware of this, they wouldn't call him on it. It wasn't like it would do anything.

Kakashi pulled out an old fashioned alarm clock, winding it and setting it on a tree stump. "This clock is set for noon, you'll have until then to complete you assignment."

"Which is?" Sasuke questioned, while him and Hinata removed their bags.

"Simple," He reached behind him and removed two bells, the movement making them chime. "all you have to do is take these bells from me."

"That's it?" Naruto questioned, with a tilt of his head.

"That's it." Kakashi replied, "Whatever means you think you have to go to to get them is allowed, you're allowed to use any weapon you have on you. Coming at me at full force is the only chance you have at taking one."

"B-But, sensei!" Hinata stammered. "That sounds d-dangerous, what if w-we h-hurt you?!" The idea alone of striking her teacher was so alien, forget about attacking him with a deadly weapon. She was very hesitant about that, even if it was the only way.

"Yeah, how would you dodge a weapon when you couldn't even dodge that eraser!" Naruto laughed. "We'd end up killing you for sure!"

"You know, those who have the loudest bark usually have nothing to back it up." Kakashi countered, making Naruto pull a face. "It won't be that simple, I can _assure_ you. If you can't get a bell, then you go without lunch." He pointed behind them, making them turn around. "You'll be tied to those posts and watch while I eat my own lunch in front of you."

At that moment, Naruto's stomach growled. "That's why you told us not to eat breakfast!" he exclaimed, in that instant regretting even listening to him.

"Why are there only two bells?" Sasuke asked, finally taking notice to the flaw here.

Hinata looked at her teammates, then at the bells. "There aren't enough for all of us." she added.

"Well, that's because only two of you can have them." he answered, the looks of confusion he was given prompting him to continue. "The one that fails to retrieve a bell will not only be tied to the post, they'll ultimately fail this test for not completing the mission. _That _one will be sent back to the Academy."

"Back to the—" Naruto paused, then growled. "What gives?! That isn't what you said before!"

"Well, it's what I'm saying now." Kakashi countered. Sasuke clenched his fists, he needed this training. It was important if he was to kill Itachi, so there was no way in hell he'd let his 'teammates' get in the way of this. They'd wreck it all for him.

Hinata couldn't fail for multiple reasons, the first being Hiashi would be more disappointed than she could imagine. If he thought she was a failure now, she'd hate to know what he would think if she had to go back to the Academy.

Naruto wasn't gonna let anything get in his way of becoming a ninja, that included this bell test. He was gonna show Kakashi whose boss and take one of those bells, before he even knew what happened. There was absolutely no way he was getting sent back to square one.

"On my mark, we'll begin." Kakashi said, and Naruto snapped. He quickly whipped out a kunai and was prepared to hurl it at Kakashi. Before Sasuke or Hinata could register it, Kakashi had moved behind Naruto and was holding the kunai to the back of his skull.

'_His reaction time was astounding.' _Hinata's mouth fell open.

_'So ... he really is a Jounin then ...' _Sasuke thought, curling his hands into fists as he narrowed his eyes.

"Relax, I didn't tell you you could start yet." Kakashi said, then released a chuckle. "I guess this means you acknowledged all that I said, if that's the case ... I might just start to like you all." He let Naruto go, and the blonde quickly moved towards his team. "Now, when I say 'go' we begin." There was silence, everyone ready for him to give the word.

It made Kakashi smirk, they were attentive. That was good. "Go!" he exclaimed. With a push of chakra through their legs, everyone leaped away from each other.

Despite the way Kakashi displayed what he was capable of in mere seconds, Naruto was still dead set on defeating him. So much so that he stood completely out in the open, instead of finding a hiding spot like Hinata and Sasuke.

The two of them watched on as Naruto engaged Kakashi in battle, if you could really call it that. He appeared like he wasn't even paying attention to Naruto, calmly reading a book while he dodged and blocked all of Naruto's blows.

It was obvious from the look on his face that it was pissing him off. "Pay attention to me!" he shouted, throwing a punch that Kakashi caught in his hand. He wasn't surprised that it was bothering him so much.

Naruto, his fighting was incredibly sloppy. That was what Kakashi observed, his form was just awful and he was too spontaneous with his movements. However, there was quite some power behind his punches and kicks. He could be quite good at taijutsu if he practiced more.

Naruto probably thought Kakashi was treating him like some kind of joke, that is what he thought. He got that enough already, he wasn't taking it from his sensei too.

But, unfortunately, Naruto continued to be subject to humiliation. Kakashi was purposely doing it, he knew Hinata and Sasuke were watching. He could feel their presence near, but he ignored it since they weren't attempting to approach him. Instead he would let them watch Naruto embarrass himself, which ended in Naruto getting jabbed with the 'A Thousand Years of Pain' technique. So as Kakashi called it.

It had surprised Hinata and Sasuke at first, when they saw the last hand seal was for a fire technique. Only to deadpan when Kakashi poked him in the butt and sent him flying, straight into the lake that was near them.

_'Oh no, Naruto-kun!' _Hinata thought as she watched him crawl from the water. This was bad, Naruto was clearly struggling and he was obviously stronger than Hinata. She nervously bit her lip. _'I-If Naruto-kun can't do it ... then I-I'll n-never ...'_

At that moment, eight _clones_ emerged from the water. "Ha! Eat my new jutsu, the _Shadow Clone technique!" _Naruto proudly announced. "You better not read that stupid book now sensei, there are more than one of me now!"

Hinata was shocked as she watched all the copies, she activated her Byakugan to get a better look at them. Only to see that each one had it's own chakra network. For that to be possible then ... these weren't illusions. They were flesh and blood copies.

"Not just clones, but _shadow _clones_."_ Kakashi confirmed, seemingly unfazed by the observation. "You can probably barely even sustain this jutsu for a minute. You can't defeat me with that jutsu, it doesn't matter how many of you there are, you're still just Naruto." His stoic expression was immediately replaced with one of surprise, as a clone latched onto him from behind. "What? Behind me?"

Hinata's heart fluttered, a proud smile spread across her lips along with a deep blush. _'He's really doing it!'_

"A shinobi should never get caught from behind," Naruto teased. "Right, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's copies rushed up to Kakashi. "I sent a _shadow clone_ out of the water to sneak up from behind you, and now you're caught!" He wound up a punch. "Now it's payback time, this is for jabbing me in the ass_!"_

The end result wasn't, but probably should have been, what they expected however. Naruto merely ended up decking himself. Kakashi had used the Body Replacement technique, switching himself out with one of Naruto's doubles as opposed to the standard log. Then ended up fighting with himself until he finally dispelled the jutsu, leaving him standing alone on the battlefield.

Sasuke shook his head, muttering about him being an idiot, for a second he actually thought the blonde fool was getting somewhere.

_'Oh Naruto-kun ...'_ Hinata sadly thought as she watched. Naruto noticed a bell on the ground that had been left by Kakashi. But directly beneath it, underground, Kakashi stood. Naruto couldn't see it, but Hinata could. She panicked as she dropped down from her tree, running out of her place of hiding. "Naruto-kun!" she called out, but he didn't seem to hear. That or he ignored her, in the end he sprung the trap and was immediately strung up by his ankles. Hanging upside down from a tree.

Kakashi sprung from the ground. "Maybe you should actually _think_ before you use a jutsu like that, or else it may be turned against you." he nonchalantly said, picking up his bell. "Also, don't ever fall for such obvious traps, you idiot."

"_Damn_ it!" was the only reply that Naruto could think to give, struggling to get himself loose.

"A shinobi must be able to see what's underneath the underneath." Kakashi said with a smirk of smugness.

"I _know_ that!"

"I'm telling you this because you _don't_ know." the copy ninja said back, making Naruto growl.

But before Naruto could give the proper reply, Sasuke took his chance to attack while his sensei was distracted. Several shuriken flew from Sasuke's spot from the large bushes, piercing through Kakashi. A look of horror passed over Naruto's features, yelling at Sasuke in a panic. At the fact that he'd possibly killed their teacher, but Hinata's Byakugan showed her that he had already performed the body switching jutsu just before he got hit. Now he was gone. Hinata couldn't even see him, he moves fast.

She moved slowly at first, then began to pick up speed with every step that she took. Breaking out in a run towards Naruto. "N-Naruto-kun! Are you a-alright?" she asked in concern once she reached him, deactivating her doujutsu.

He didn't even answer her question. "Get me down!" he exclaimed, and Hinata quickly pulled out a shuriken and hurled it at the rope. Naruto fell on his head as soon as it was cut.

"S-Sorry!" she apologized, starting to help him up. But he held up a hand, signalling for her to not touch him, as he stood up on his own.

"Stupid sensei ..." Naruto muttered, dusting himself off. Then he looked at Hinata. "Why aren't you trying to get a bell, you don't want one or something?" He thought she would've chased after Kakashi, Sasuke didn't exactly stick around to help him.

Hinata shook her head, staring at her feet as she twirled her fingers. "N-No ... I ... I don't think I can b-beat him on my own ..."

Naruto blinked. "Why would you think something like that?"

Her eyes began to shift around, her heartbeat picking up. "Because ... I-I'm not as s-strong as y-you or S-Sasuke-san ..."

"... That's stupid." he commented, making her eyes widen. "If you're gonna say stuff like that, you're just setting yourself up for disaster. You're probably a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. What you're actually capable of might surprise you." he explained.

"M-Maybe .. but," She looked away. "I don't think I c-can."

"You're giving up too easy, a _real_ ninja fights till the end!" he exclaimed. "How are you suppose to prove your family wrong, or _whatever_, if you fail this test?" Naruto hoped she wasn't this way with everything. "You gotta believe in yourself more than that if you plan on accomplishing anything!"

_'Naruto-kun ...' _Hinata blushed, nodding. "You're right, t-thank you ... b-but he's still stronger than us. We'd never be able to defeat him s-separately."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, so? I don't care _how_ strong he is, I'll beat him into the dirt. Believe it!" He then gave her a curious look. "What makes you think that?"

"W-Well, it's just that ..." she trailed. "... he out ranks us, a Genin can't defeat a Jounin." At least not a fresh out of the Academy Genin, that was common knowledge. There have been ninja who had Jounin level skills but wanted to keep their beginning rank, for reasons unknown. They weren't those kinds of Genin, unfortunately. "At least, n-not individually."

"Sooo ..." Naruto paused, to think. "... you're saying we should work together or something?"

She nodded. "Yes! I think if we work together, it'll be easier for us."

"Hmmm," Naruto hummed, considering the idea. He didn't want to fail this test, and he supposed she had a point. And, if on the off chance she was right, they could each have one. "well ... I guess it's worth a try."

She smiled. "And maybe we can get Sasuke-san to—"

"No!" Naruto suddenly cut off, in quite a loud manner, making the Hyuuga girl flinch. "What would we need him for? We'd probably be just fine alone, I bet he wouldn't even want our help anyway."

"W-Well, I was just s-suggesting." she stammered out. "It's just, w-we're a t-team and ... I think we should f-find him. If a-all three of us f-face sensei, we could probably g-get a b-bell ..."

Naruto made a face, there was still the issue of there only being two bells. That alone made him hesitate, he only agreed because he thought it would be just the two of them. One bell for him, the other for her. "... Fine, whatever .." He could always take one before Sasuke coul. "How are we suppose to find him?"

Hinata made a hand seal, activating her Byakugan again. "I'll take care of it." she said, using her eyes to quickly scan the area and farther out. It didn't take long for her to find him, near a clearing. "I see him, this way!" She quickly ran in Sasuke's direction, with Naruto following closely behind.

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO!**

* * *

Sasuke panted, carefully looking around. After he realized he hadn't actually dealt the blow to Kakashi, but a log, he left the area as quickly as he could.

That man wasn't some joke like he previously thought, especially not after how he effortlessly beat Naruto. But then again, Naruto was an idiot dead last, anyone could beat him.

Sasuke clenched his fists. _'I'm not losing to that bastard ...' _Sasuke was an avenger, he was going to gain vengeance for his slain family. Itachi had to pay, and Kakashi's damned test was threatening that.

He would show him, Sasuke was going to get one of those bells with ease. His ears perked up when he heard a rustle from behind him, the sudden noise made his heart do a nervous leap. But he composed himself, quickly removing a kunai from his pouch and throwing it at the tall bushes.

He heard a yelp and a "whoa!", followed by the sound of his weapon digging into a tree. That sounded like Hinata and Naruto.

As if on cue, they both stumbled out. Hinata appeared to be a bit shaken, while Naruto looked a little ticked. "Teme!" he spat. "How about you watch where you're throwing?!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Idiot, what were you two in the bushes for?" He thought it was Kakashi.

"W-We were l-looking for you." Hinata answered.

"... For what reason?"

"W-Well .. uh ..." His expectant gaze was making her feel uncomfortable, so she glanced at Naruto. Hoping he would continue for her, to which he did.

"Hinata thinks we should work together for the bells, it'll be harder for Kakashi-sensei to fight all three of us at the same time." he explained, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

Were they crazy? "Forget it, you two are just gonna get in my way. Especially _you_." he said to Naruto. "After that embarrassing display with Kakashi, you're insane if you think I'll work with you."

"I knew you'd say something like that!" Naruto yelled, then turned to Hinata. "I told you this was a bad idea!"

Hinata's lips pressed together in a thin line, quickly looking between Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke rolled his eyes, turning his back to them. "I don't have time to stand around, if that's all you had to say then get lost."

"W-Wait a minute p-please, Sasuke-san!" Hinata said as she stepped closer, making Sasuke crane his neck around to look at her. "P-Please, can you a-at least try to r-reconsider?"

"No," he said flatly. "I can do just fine on my own."

"But h-he's a Jounin!" she countered. "None of us are strong enough to beat him o-on our o-own!"

"Maybe that's the case for you and dead last, but not me." Sasuke said with narrowed eyes. "I don't need help from _either_ of you."

"No one can do everything on their o-own." Hinata said. "The g-greater your numbers, the more chance you have of s-succeed. Besides, we're a t-team, whoever's left after this test ... well ... t-they'll have to learn to work together anyway ..." she explained.

While he didn't really like it, she made a point with that last bit. He would probably get stuck with one of them in the end anyway. He turned all the way around and crossed his arms. "So say I did agree to help you, then what?"

"Then we'll come up with a plan." Naruto said. "A really _good_ plan, one that's sure to kick him right in the ass!"

The corners of Sasuke's mouth twitched a little, nearly smirking at how the blonde worded it. He stared at them, he didn't want to risk failing. But there really was power behind numbers, Hinata had definately been correct about that. He sighed. "... You better be sure about this." he said to them with a hard glare. Then his look slowly softened, until his expression was one again stoic. "I'm listening."

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO!**

* * *

Kakashi was back out at their meeting place, near the wooden posts and the Memorial Stone. He hadn't seen any of them since he 'fought' with Naruto at the river, not that he was really looking anyway.

Time was slowly ticking away, how much they had left was a mystery. He would find out once they alarm sounded.

He heard someone land behind him, when he turned to see who it was he saw Hinata. "So it's just you? Where's the rest of the team?" She remained silent. "Nothing huh? Well, alright." He shrugged. "You seem more level headed than Naruto, so I'm sure you won't have as much of a problem. But time's running out, don't waste it."

Hinata still said nothing, as she slowly slipped into the standard Hyuuga fighting stance. One that Kakashi recognized immediately. "Gentle Fist, eh?" He crossed his arms. "This could be more interesting than I thought, after all you should be the one with the best taijutsu skills on this team."

With a yell, Hinata ran up to Kakashi. The palms of her hands flying everywhere as she tried to hit him, in non-threatening places. Kakashi blocked and dodged all of them with no issue, he was a bit impressed. Her movements were very graceful. Her blows were very quick and thought out, that was good, but there was very little power behind them. She was lacking in physical strength.

But she was still a little good for a Genin. While her blows were easy for him to follow, he wouldn't be able to read his book with this one. And that was such a shame, as he'd left off on such a good chapter.

Hinata gasped as Kakashi grabbed the arm that went straight passed his head, pulling her forward and turning out of her way. Tripping her and making her fall onto the ground. "You need to watch the way your opponent moves as well." he informed as she shot back up.

Hinata swung her leg around for a roundhouse kick, but he caught it by her ankle. Her eyes widened a little and she swung her arm around, the palm of her hand aimed for his face. But he blocked her attempted strike with his arm, shoving her leg up and making her fall onto her back.

He wasn't trying to hurt her, any of them really, so pushing was the most he was going to do. Unless he was forced otherwise.

Hinata pushed herself back up and continued her attacking assault, this time Kakashi only dodged. Getting a good look at her, he realized she wasn't using her Byakugan. Which was odd. She clearly wasn't trying to kill him, but how would she hit his chakra points if she couldn't see them? Not that he would let her go that far.

He dodged her palm again, or tried. She faked him out and swung her fist out to his head, but he caught her fist; the impact letting out a smack. She quickly grabbed his other arm and yelled out "Byakugan!" Which took him by surprise, since her eyes still looked the same.

Just then, a dozen Naruto clones shot out of the forest. Charging straight for Kakashi, then Hinata kicked him in the chest while he was distracted. Making him release her so she could leap away.

Byakugan was the signal, or "detonation word" as Naruto had called it, to set off their attack. The second it was said, Naruto was to release the clones he kept in hiding. Once all of Naruto's doubles reached him, they jumped him.

Kakashi didn't have to put up much of a fight, these clones were easy to dodge and strike. But for everyone that disappeared, it seemed like another one would show up in it's place.

While Kakashi was distracted by the clones, Hinata activated her blood limit and looked straight at Sasuke; who was watching very closely. The second he saw her leap away, he knew it was his signal to come out.

Sasuke hopped from tree to tree until he was finally out in the open, then he began to pelt Kakashi with a barrage of Kunai and Shuriken. He threw them very precise and angled, so that they wouldn't go straight and hit any of the clones by mistake. They all dug into Kakashi's torso and head, then there was a pop. Followed by a thick wave of smoke and a log thunking to the ground.

Kakashi could see that Sasuke was very handy with weapons, what with how he managed to avoid the moving cluster of Naruto clones. His hand and eyes were sharp, unsurprising as most Uchiha were good weapon users.

Sasuke landed near the clones, quickly scanning the area as best as he could for his sensei. Hinata jumped back out, quickly warning Sasuke. "He's below you!" In reflex, Sasuke lurched away just as Kakashi's hands shot out of the ground. Startling some of the clones.

"Thanks," Sasuke muttered, when Hinata appeared beside him. She acknowledged it with a nod of her head, watching as Kakashi sprung from the ground. The clones jumping him again as soon as they gained the opportunity.

He threw hand seals at lightning speed, the final being the Tiger seal. Then with a puff of his chest and cheeks, Sasuke released an inferno that cut through half of the clones. Igniting Kakashi.

The sight made Hinata's eyes widen and one of the remaining Naruto scream, "Sasuke, what hell, we aren't trying to _kill_ him!" Sasuke's own eyes widened a little as he ceased blowing the fire.

To their surprise, though it probably shouldn't have been, Kakashi was gone again. "Do you see where he is now?" Sasuke questioned Hinata.

She looked around, but he was nowhere. All who stood in the area were the Genin, she shook her head. "No, nowhere." There were popping sounds, some of the clones were disappearing.

One of the Naruto had been attacking, a kick here and a punch there then all the copies were gone. It was just the three of them. "N-Naruto-kun!"

Sasuke bared his teeth. "You idiot, what are you doing?!"

Naruto chuckled. "The Transformation technique, such a simple jutsu." There was a pop, and there stood Kakashi. "And neither of you could tell? What a shame." Sasuke clenched his fists. "I thought you would have seen it with those eyes of yours." he said to Hinata.

But she couldn't distinguish people according to their chakra, especially not theirs. She wasn't accustom to the presence of their inner energies yet. Hinata and Sasuke looked at each other from the corner of their eyes.

Sasuke's dark eyes quickly flickered over to Kakashi and back to her, his way of asking if they should rush him. And that's precisely what they did, after she gave him a nod of approval.

Sasuke hit high while Hinata hit low, Kakashi's attention completely held to the two throwing quick jabs. Sasuke pulled out a Shuriken, flinging it at Kakashi's head. Thought, the masked man ducked before it could really touch him. Flying into the trees behind him.

It dug into the tree Naruto sat on, right near his head, and he smirked. "Those bells are ours." he said, making more copies of himself to send out as a diversion. While he snuck out.

Kakashi sighed as he ducked and weaved from Sasuke and Hinata's attacks. "Shadow clones again? Don't you have any other Ace up your sleeve?" He questioned as the copies approached.

"This is all we need." one of them said as it threw a punch that Kakashi ducked from. The copy ninja elbowed it in the chin, making it disappear in a cloud of smoke.

"Well, at least there aren't that many this time." he commented, then two latched on tightly to his legs. "What— oof!" The real Naruto had latched onto his back, effectively pinning Kakashi's arms down in the process.

"Got'cha again, sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning widely.

"You know, using the same old trick repeatedly isn't a very smart move on your part." Kakashi commented. "Do that with the enemy and they'll figure out the ins and outs to it in no time, not that this one is all that great in the first place."

"Doesn't matter now." Naruto retorted.

"And why's that?" Just then, Kakashi heard the bells jingle. Then saw Hinata jump away from him, bells in hand.

"Because now we're done here." Sasuke said, the alarm clock going off not long after. It was noon. The clones disappeared and Naruto slipped off of Kakashi's back, running over to his team. Once there, Hinata gave one bell to Naruto and the other to Sasuke.

"Hinata—"

"It's okay Naruto-kun, y-you take it ..." Naruto and Sasuke would probably make better ninja than he anyway, maybe another year of Academy wouldn't be as bad as she thought it would be. At least she hoped.

"Ha! In your face Kakashi-sensei, I got one!" Naruto gloated.

"You got the bells together." Kakashi added, and Naruto shrugged.

"Whatever."

Kakashi stared at them, then smirked. "... You all pass." They all looked shocked.

"Wha ... huh?" Naruto said.

"You heard me, you ... all ... pass." Kakashi repeated, slower this time.

"B-But, why?" Hinata stammered out.

"There were only two bells." Sasuke pointed out. "You said only two of us could pass because of that, so you were lying the whole time."

"Yep!" Kakashi said, and Naruto made a face. The tone in his voice made it sound as if he had no qualms about it. "But, in all seriousness, the real point to this test wasn't to see who could get the bells." Kakashi explained, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I only told you only two could pass because I was purposely trying to pin you all against each other. This was a test to see if you could put aside your your own selfishness and work together as a _team._" Kakashi looked at Hinata. "Which by the way, I applaud you for giving away those bells Hinata. You thought of your team members before yourself, exactly what I was looking for."

Her cheeks tinted pink as she nodded. "T-Thank you, sensei."

"So, if we hadn't worked together like you wanted ... then we would've failed?" Naruto inquired, and Kakashi nodded as a response.

"As a Genin, you should already have a natural feel for teamwork, while you need individual skills as well, it's what's the most important of a Shinobi. Putting yourself and your own needs before the team will more than likely lead to mission failure. Or, even worse, the death of someone on your squad. On every mission, you're putting your life on the line." he explained. "Have you ever seen the Memorial Stone? The big black one right over there." He pointed behind them, and they all looked.

"I-I've heard of it." Hinata admitted.

"That stone ... is reserved for all of Konoha's fallen heroes." he said.

Naruto's mouth fell open a tiny bit. "Fallen heroes?" he repeate., "So ... everyone who's on that stone ... is _dead_?" Kakashi nodded.

"Yes," he answered.

"Did they die in battle, or what?" Naruto questioned.

"It isn't that black and white, simply dying in a squabble isn't going to get your name on it. Shinobi who gave their lives for a good cause: the village, their comrades, the greater good. It's for the ninja who died _nobly_. Not foolishly." he explained. "It's to honor those who died in honor, the names of my closest friends are engraved on that stone." he said, you could hear the sadness in his voice. See the distant and empty look in his eye. They were all silent for the next minute, almost as if to honor the names of Kakashi's old team. "... Sometimes you have to make sacrifices, there will be instances where your teammates are more important that your mission."

"So you're saying if our teammates need help, it's alright to break the rules?" Sasuke asked, and Kakashi nodded.

"Yes, while those who break the rules are considered scum ... those who dare to abandon their friends are _worse_ than scum."

The three Genin all glanced at each other, then back at Kakashi. Letting what he just said really soak in. "... You all aren't the first team I've had." he admitted. "But, you're the first to ever show such team work. Every other squad I've lead did exactly the opposite of what I wanted, ignored each other and worked alone."

"A-And because of that .. you failed them." Hinata added, but Kakashi only continued.

"This gives me great hope for you all." he said, "This shows me that you're competent enough to understand what it truly means to be a team, I want to always see what you just showed me." Everyone was quiet. "... Never take each other for granted, your team means much more than meets the eye. Appreciate one another while you still can, because one could be gone before you know it." He looked down at the ground. "Once they're _all_ gone, you have no one ..."

That hit really deep for the three of them, he was right. Starting as of now, all they really had was each other. Kakashi's words made them realize that, they could be gone tomorrow. None of them fully understood just why Kakashi explained all of this to them, but ... in a way, it made them appreciate each other just a little bit more than before.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow... this is the longest chapter I've ever written for anything. That's freaking awesome. I don't know about you guys, but I sure do enjoy lengthy chapters like this one.

Just as a heads up, fight scenes are not my strong suit. So I hope the one(s) in this chapter you liked anyway.

Not that I'm trying to bag on Sakura or anything, but if she'd stopped to think about how much of a disadvantage they were against a Jounin individually (instead of screaming and chasing Sasuke the whole damn time) then I honestly think she would've came up with the idea "Maybe we should team up" just like Hinata did in this chapter. Just saying, Sakura's smart like that dude.

Don't ghost read, review and tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter three: Missions

**Author's Note: **I'm glad you guys are liking the changes that I'm implementing so far, it reassures me that I'm doing a good job! I also thank you for all the favorites/follows. This idea isn't the most original, so I never thought it would get the attention it has thus far.

Happy reading everyone!

_© Anime by Masashi Kishimoto_

* * *

**Chapter Three**

_Missions_

* * *

Kakashi's feet made light clacks across the floor, as he walked down the long hallway of the Hokage Tower. It had been at least three weeks, nearly an entire month, since Team Seven had been made official. Up until now they'd been given simple E to D-rank missions, ones so simple a civilian could do them.

It, of course, didn't sit very well with Naruto. Though, that was only because he hadn't perceived their true purpose.

Giving Genin these, basically speaking, chores was a way to show civilians that ninja were not as dangerous as they may have thought. Doing these simple jobs was a way to say, "Hey, we're no different from you!" It gives them a little more easiness around shinobi, eventually it shows that ninja are there to protect them. Not harm them.

While Naruto probably wouldn't care about that, considering he feels like he doesn't owe them anything, that was still very much the case.

Kakashi stopped in front of the Chuunin guards that stood in front of Hiruzen's office door, nodding them in greeting. "I'm here to see Hokage-sama, is he by any chance busy?"

The two glanced at each other, one nodding at the other, the other replied. "He's only filing I believe, what was your business with him?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, that wasn't quite their concern. Now was it? Well, then again they_were_ guarding his door. "I'm only here to discuss a _private_ matter." Kakashi's emphasis on the word made an embarrassed blush spread across the man's cheeks.

"Oh, u-um." He cleared his throat. "My apologies Kakashi-san, I-I wasn't trying to pry, I just ..." The other tried to hold back a laugh, making the embarrassed man elbow him. Muttering to him a hushed 'shut up'. "You.. you may enter, Kakashi-san." he said, opening the door for the copy-nin as he stepped aside.

Hiruzen looked up from the papers on his desk when he heard the sudden noise, giving a kind smile when he saw it was Kakashi who entered his office. "Kakashi, it's nice to see you this morning."

"Likewise, Hokage-sama." Kakashi replied as the door was closed.

"To what do I owe your presence?" he questioned, threading his fingers together.

"Well for starters, before I forget, I wanted to give you this." he said, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a mission scroll. He stepped up closer to his desk and handed it out to him, Hiruzen took it and unraveled it.

His eyes quickly scanned over the kanji, recognizing it as the mission he had gave them the previous day. "Your mission scroll ..." he trailed, he'd given them the job of giving aid to a farmer in one of the neighboring lands. He'd been having recent issues with pests. "It says here that your time of completion was at least ten o'clock," He looked up at the masked man. "why was this not handed to me last night?"

Kakashi sighed. "Due to some mishaps and screw ups, courtesy of Naruto—that I'd rather not discuss." he quickly said, when he saw Hiruzen open his mouth. "Our actual time of departure wasn't until at least two in the morning."

"I see," he said, rolling the scroll back up. "That small town is at least two hours away on foot, you didn't arrive back in the village until four?" Kakashi nodded, it was nine right now. That means Kakashi had only gotten five hours of sleep, and who knows when he told those poor kids to get up. "There was more you wanted to discuss with me?"

"Well, you did tell me to update you on my team's progress after all." Now Hiruzen was intrigued.

"Go on then," he said.

"They're all doing well enough," Kakashi started. "While I admit to there being some tension at first, mostly between Naruto and Sasuke, by now they've all grown accustom to one another's presence." he explained.

The Sandaime nodded. "Alright, has there been any development amongst Hinata and Naruto? Sasuke even?"

"Um... well..." Kakashi trailed. "...I wouldn't say as of yet, in terms of ability anyhow. Naruto still acts as wild and brash as ever, unfortunately, but he seems to take the time to actually listen now." That was mostly due to words spoken by himself, and Hinata once in a rare while. "Hinata has become noticably more comfortable around those two, not to mention noticably happier. Sasuke speaks a little more—"

"While it's good for them to get along Kakashi, has there been any change in them_individually_?"

Kakashi remained quiet, thinking it over. "For now, all I can say is that there's been a slight shift amongst the team's relationship. In a positive manner." he replied.

Hiruzen sighed. "Again, while that's good, that isn't what was discussed." he said. "Your promise to me was that this team formation would prove to be more beneficial to them, Naruto and Hinata more so, in their skills."

"You couldn't have possibly expected such quick results, Hokage-sama." Kakashi countered. "While these changes may very well be small, they're what will pave the way to their true changes into good shinobi. It only takes time, it's a very delicate process that takes quite the effort."

The old man released a breath. "... I suppose, I only changed my mind because of what you said." he reminded. "Nothing can be done about that now, so I expect to see your predictions come true."

"That's what I aim to do." Kakashi said as he nodded. "Before I go, would there happen to be an assignment available for my squad?"

"Another mission, eh?" he mumbled, then opened a drawer in his desk. "Normally I'd request the presence of the _entire_ team before handing out a mission, but I'd assume they're waiting for you elsewhere."

"You'd be right about that assumption, Sandaime-sama." Kakashi said, just as Hiruzen removed a scroll. He unrolled it, scanning it to see if it was the one he thought it was, then handed it to Kakashi to read. The copy-nin took it, his eye reading over the words just as Hiruzen's did. "... A missing cat, huh?"

The Hokage nodded. "The fire daimyo's wife, Shijimi, requested our assistance. Seems her cat, Tora, has run away... again." he sighed. "This request came in just this morning, and it's only a house cat, it couldn't have gotten very far. At best her pet is within the perimeter of their estate, somewhere in the forest." he explained. "It's an easy enough job."

Kakashi nodded. "Alright then, we'll get this taken care of in no time." He wouldn't have to put in any real effort here, he could just have the kids chase the cat around. He could probably sit back, relax, and possibly even have a good laugh while he's at it.

Kakashi rolled the scroll up and stuck it inside his Kunai pouch, and with a bow to Hiruzen he was out the door.

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO!**

* * *

"He's screwing with us!" Naruto exclaimed, his arms crossed as he sat Indian style on the grassy ground.

"Naruto-kun—"

"No! I'm serious, he always does this! It's pissing me off!" Naruto cut Hinata off. Kakashi had told the three of them to meet in the training field again, at eight o'clock. And, as they should have expected by now, he hadn't shown up.

Sasuke sighed irritable. "Yelling about it won't make him show up, idiot. Besides, it's only been an hour and a half. Quiet down."

"We shouldn't have had to even wait _that_ long!" Naruto blew a raspberry at him. "And who are you suppose to be anyway, I don't have to listen to you!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but chose to do the right thing and not reply. Instead, only leaving it at that. Prompting Naruto to stop as well.

Much to Hinata's relief.

While those two didn't argue often, when they did manage to it could go on for quite a while. She was afraid they would right now, what with their lack of proper sleep setting them a bit on edge. They were all still quite tired, though not so much they would pass out at any second.

Sasuke let out a sigh, sitting down in the grass. As he too had grown tired of standing. He draped his fingers together, glancing up at Naruto and Hinata before returning his gaze to the ground in front of him.

Even after these few weeks, while he'd grown use to their constant company, he didn't quite know what to make of those two; his team. They were the front liners, an attack team. It was plain common sense that Sasuke was suitable for such a thing. And Naruto as well, he supposed, according to how quickly and easily he could rush into battle.

Though, Hinata didn't seem like the type what so ever. She was far too ... meek, and shy. Sometimes she didn't seem very believing in herself either, she seemed more like the type to sit back and observe. To scope things out from the shadows, that definitely appeared to be more her style.

Made him wonder whose bright idea it was to put her on a team of front liners. Whose bright idea was it to group the three of them together at all in fact?

Naruto proved incapable of creating a clone, unable to perform one of the simplest jutsu created, and his failing the Genin exam was the expected outcome. Then he suddenly shows up a week later at orientation, sporting the ninja headgear? While Sasuke hadn't shown it at the time, he'd been quite thrown off by it.

Naruto period threw him off at times, being around him just ... felt odd. Back when they were Academy students, he had never been around or payed enough attention to Naruto to really notice anything out of the box. But now that he's been in his presence twenty-four-seven, he can't help but question some things.

The fact that Naruto was able to pull a Kage level Ninjutsu nearly an endless amount of times (making dozens of clones at that), without dying from a severe case of chakra exhaustion, was impressive. Yet at the same time peculiar, for someone of his age. Not to mention he's someone who appears to have general trouble with Ninjutsu.

Not even a Kage could make as many clones, at least not in the large quantities and same shorts amount of time anyway, as Naruto seems to do effortlessly. And they nine times out of ten have reserves that are quite on the large side, Naruto couldn't possibly have the same or bigger chakra reserves as a Kage. Not at his current age anyway.

The reason wasn't something that could be observed from the surface, and that was a problem with Sasuke. He could never leave the unknown alone.

It was irritating, with Naruto being so difficult to truly figure out. Though, it was made up for by Hinata being so simple to read. She clearly had some type of infatuation with Naruto, yet was unsurprisingly not in his face about it. Unlike how most girls were with himself.

She was clearly smart, maybe not a genius but she certainly wasn't stupid. She was also a lot more think through than Naruto, proven by the test. Hinata was also very, what's the word? It escaped him, but how uncertain and quick to draw back she was at some times often became an irritation.

A real ninja can never be that way, you don't just hesitate and waste time thinking something over. You take action, there was only doing. This, coupled with how he was in the dark about Naruto, was annoying.

He didn't like dealing with a basically shrinking violet, at least not when it came to certain situations (not talking his ear off was perfectly alright). And he most definitely didn't like being left in the wonder, he'd run himself ragged trying to figure it out.

It made him feel quite the unintentional annoyance towards his respective teammates, then Kakashi's words would ring through his head. _'Once they're all gone, you have no one.' _And as simple as that, every previous thought would be wiped clean from his head. Just like now.

And instead, he would begin to think about just how much value they were to him. Despite any irritant thoughts towards them he held, they weren't as bad as he'd thought the first day the team had been formed. When times called for it, they'd learned to stick together as a team. They could easily work together should it be necessary.

Deep down, he felt they weren't so bad. Had he'd been the one to choose his own teammates, he most likely would have chosen them.

There was a pop, followed by a wave of smoke, and there stood Kakashi with his hands in his pockets. "You're late again!" Naruto snapped, while Kakashi only gave a careless shrug.

"Yes, and I also had business to take care of. Old people shouldn't have to help themselves, now should they?" Sasuke snorted, so now he was playing good samaritan? His sensei's constant lies made him wonder what he was truly up to to cause his tardiness, must have been something bad. If he felt he had to fib instead of just telling them.

"You're such a liar sensei!" Naruto countered, and Kakashi chose to ignore that. Instead he held up their mission scroll.

"We have a new assignment," Naruto beamed this time, his old sour look being completely wiped away.

"Is it something good this time? Do we get a _cool_ mission?!"

"No," Kakashi flatly replied, causing Naruto to frown up again. "We're searching for a missing cat, Tora. He belongs to the Fuedal Lord's wife, Menami."

"Aw are you kidding me?!" Naruto exclaimed. "It's just a stupid cat, it'll probably go home on it's own!"

"Naruto," Kakashi said, a bit of warning in his tone. He could unstand the kid's frustration, Kakashi didn't enjoy missions like this when he was his age either, but he was not going to have Naruto's constant complaining. He's been acting that way since two weeks ago, it was only a matter of time before he flipped. "Stop complaining, I've already taken the mission. We begin now, the sooner we return her pet the sooner it's over. Alright?"

Naruto grumbled. "Fine..."

"Okay then," Kakashi rolled the scroll back up and put it away. "let's get moving."

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO!**

* * *

"Hinata, do you have a visual on the target?" Kakashi questioned, over his communicator.

"Yes, sensei." she replied, her Byakugan eyes locked on Tora. "The target is four meters East to Sasuke-san, his back is turned. I don't believe he's aware of our presence just yet."

"Can you spot him, Sasuke?" the copy-nin asked said Uchiha.

"He's in clear sight," replied Sasuke.

"Good, now carefully approach—"

"W-Wait! Tora's on the move again!" Hinata informed, cutting off her sensei. "He's headed Northwest, straight in Naruto-kun's direction."

"Naruto, move in!" Kakashi said. "Hurry!"

"Roger!" Naruto replied, before rushing from his hiding spot. He took great caution in tailing the cat, making sure he moved quickly without making any real noise, and it ended in his favor when he got close enough to capture him. "Gotcha!" the blonde haired boy shouted as he leaped from the bushes, frightening the animal when he grabbed him. Tora beginning to struggle in his hold as he started to panic.

Sasuke and Hinata jumped down to their location. "Target acquired." Sasuke informed Kakashi through his mic.

"Verify the identity, the red ribbon should be on his left ear."

"Identity verified," Sasuke replied, glancing down at the cat's ear. "this is him."

"H-Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, squeezing Tora tighter after he nearly slipped from his grip. But this only agitated the feline even more. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Damn it, hold still!"

"Naruto-kun, should I—"

"No Hinata, I've got it!" he cut off, and just as he did the cat managed to turn around in his arms; to begin the scratching assault to his face. "Gah!" he yelled out, falling onto his back as he tried to get the animal off of him.

Kakashi hopped down in front of them all, Sasuke was the only one who acknowledged his presence. As Hinata was trying to help Naruto to remove the angry cat, Kakashi observed the scene. Then gave a thumbs up. "Good work team." he said that with much more enthusiasm than was necessary.

Hinata finally managed to pull Tora off of Naruto, the cat visibly calming down immediately, and smiled. She did in fact feel like this was good work, along with all of the other mission's they've had.

While nothing short of chores, they really helped with team bonding. There was no difficulty or stress that came along with the other missions, nothing more than the needed peaceful setting. When they'd been sitting together to pick weeds out of a woman's garden, Hinata had noticed Naruto was pulling some of her herb plants from the ground.

She called him on it, and he'd only given a shrug. Stating to her that they all looked the same, but they weren't. There were differences, obvious one's that you could see if you payed attention. She was going to tell him, had Sasuke not beaten her to it.

He'd quickly explained that those weeds had jagged edges, while the woman's herb leafs were smooth. Then he'd said no more, while Naruto silently thanked him. Successfully avoiding to destroy anymore of the herb garden.

Judging from how Sasuke had been acting at first, he hadn't seemed to care about Naruto all that much. He'd ignored Hinata unless she spoke to him, he hadn't acted very much like a team player. So it struck her as odd how he willingly cleared up Naruto's confusion like that.

She'd noticed ever since the bell test, Sasuke had been putting in just the smallest bit of effort to act like a teammate. Avoiding, to the best of his ability, calling Naruto names such as idiot or dead last. Instead, biting his tongue and staying quiet. Though, there were still times when he'd slip up and act a bit mean. Only to later revert back to his earlier behavior, she still saw this as good however.

It meant that even if Sasuke didn't enjoy being grouped with others, he still put in the effort to try and get along with them (even if only a tiny bit). It wasn't very much, he never initiated conversation (that was Naruto), but it was in fact a start.

Maybe Kakashi's words had gotten to him much deeper than she'd thought.

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO!**

* * *

Hiruzen's door opened, and him and Iruka both watched as Kakashi and the rest of Team Seven stepped inside. Kakashi held up the scroll. "It's done," he said, stepping up to the Hokage and giving it to him.

"That didn't take you very long after all, hm?" Hiruzen unrolled it, peering at it.

Kakashi shook his head. "It went very smoothly."

"No it didn't!" Naruto was quick to object, pointing at his face. Which still held fresh scratches. "That dumb cat attacked me!"

"In all fairness Naruto, you spooked him." Kakashi stated. "You should've approached with more caution than that, you can't just rush targets like that. It's dangerous, if that'd been a ninja you'd have had worse than just some scratches on your face." Kakashi explained, and Naruto crossed his arms. Muttering to himself.

Kakashi had made a point, Hinata would try to remember that. Not that she would ever rush into a battle, but Kakashi was clearly someone who knew a lot about a lot of things. It was best to listen when he gave such advice.

"Yeah I hear ya," Naruto said. "The only thing good about this mission is that Tora's getting the life squeezed out of him!" Sasuke cracked a smirk, he'd found Menami's hugging of the cat a bit amusing.

_'Poor Tora...' _Hinata thought, she hoped Shijimi hadn't squeezed the poor thing to death. Also that she wouldn't anytime soon.

Kakashi merely shook his head at Naruto's immaturity, then redirected his gaze at Hiruzen. "It's still early in the day, not even noon yet, is there anything else that needs doing Hokage-sama?" he questioned, and Hiruzen nodded.

Naruto beamed, getting a hopeful look on his face. "Let's see ..." the Sandaime trailed, as he proceeded to skim through a list of possible missions suited for them. "The farmer needs assistance again, harvesting his large field of potato crops." Naruto's smile fell. "There's doing some grocery shopping in the neighboring land, for the police chief's wife. There's babysitting the—"

"_No_!" Naruto finally exclaimed, catching some of them off guard. "No no no, a million times_no_! Those are all stupid, I'm getting sick of these lame missions! Give us something good already!"

Iruka's eyes narrowed. "Naruto, you're a rookie! Nothing but a novice ninja! Genin begin with the simplest missions and work their way up from there!"

"How the heck are we suppose to work our way up, if you keep giving us crap assignments?!" Sasuke had to mentally agree with him there, he was getting bored with these missions as well. He didn't go through all those years of training, just to waste his acquired skills on such simple tasks.

Hinata, a little part of her, couldn't help but to agree herself. While she did enjoy them, it would also be very nice to do something different.

Kakashi whacked him upside the head, making the blonde boy flinch. "Be quiet, Naruto."

"Naruto, I'm not giving you these missions to spite you." Hiruzen said. "These missions are distributed according to the rank of a shinobi, and how dangerous such missions are. You are all Genin, the lowest ranking ninja there is, so you get put with the simpler and safer missions; E and D-rank. Once you make Chuunin, or at least show the level of skill needed to handle higher ranking missions, you will get sent on more C-ranks. Do you see where I'm going with this?" he explained, but Naruto didn't respond.

He had a dazed look on his face, he appeared as if he hadn't been listening to a word he said. And he wasn't, it went in one ear and out the other. While he instead contemplated what his next meal would be.

"Are you listening to me?!" he irritably exclaimed, making Naruto flinch a little and look up.

"Huh?" was all he said, and Hiruzen shot Kakashi a look. To which the copy-nin only shrugged.

"When I told you he was more inclined to listen, I meant to my advice and some pointers from the others. Not to an explanation he deems as boring." he explained, causing the Hokage to release a sigh.

"While it may be 'boring' he needs to understand that—"

"Aw lecture lecture lecturing is all you ever do with me! You still seem to think that I'm just the same old trouble making brat that I use to be, well I'm not! I'm a ninja now, so I wanna be treated like one and given a better mission! C'mon, old man!" Hinata and Sasuke both wondered how Naruto was able to speak to their village leader that way, and not get into trouble.

Kakashi only sighed at Naruto's miniature speech, his brattiness knew no bounds when he didn't get his way. Sometimes it made Kakashi want to drive his head through a wall.

This made Hiruzen give a sigh in exasperation, then there was an uncomfortable silence. "... Fine, if you really want it that badly... I can give you a C-rank."

Naruto beamed. "Alright then!" Sasuke gave a smirk, hopefully this would prove to be more exciting.

_'Oh gosh ...' _Hinata trailed in her mind, twiddling her thumbs. _'Hopefully it won't be anything too d-difficult'_.

"Your mission will be to guard a certain individual." Hiruzen informed.

Naruto's expression grew into an even larger grin, surprisingly. "Who is it? Is it a Feudal Lord? Or a princess or_ something?"_

"Calm yourself, Naruto. I'm about to introduce him to you all," said Hiruzen, then turned towards the separate doorway to his side. "Please enter."

The door opened and an old man, who was holding in his hand what was easily a near consumed bottle of sake, entered the office. "What's this?" he growled, scrunching up his nose. "They're all just a bunch of puny brats! Especially that midget right there, with the stupid face. I'm suppose to believe you're really a ninja?"

Naruto laughed at the old man's insult, then looked around at his team. "Which one's the midget with the stupid—" Hinata dropped her gaze to the ground while Sasuke only stared at him, waiting for Naruto to piece it together himself. Then, not very long afterwards, the answer dawned on him. Hinata had actually never noticed she was taller than Naruto, but she never stood close enough to him to compare height before either...

"... Old drunk, I'll _kill_ you!" Naruto roared, lunging towards their client. Only to be pulled back by his orange jacket, by his sensei.

"Don't kill the person that we're supposed to be protecting, you idiot." said Kakashi.

"This is Tazuna, a bridge builder from Wave country." Hiruzen introduced. "He needs to be escorted home, your mission is to make sure he returns there safe and soundly. The bridge he is building is very important to his land, it is also best to stick around until it's completion. Just to be sure everything runs smoothly."

"Understood," Kakashi nodded, then turned to his team. "This is going to be a pretty long mission. and Wave country is far away—located in the East of the Land of Fire—and we're going to be travelling there on foot. I estimate it will take us at least a near week to get there, since we'll also have to remain there until the bridge is completed we could be there a few more weeks. Try to remember that while you're packing." he explained. "We're all to meet at the main gate in two hours. That should be enough time for you."

They each nodded, understanding their orders, and proceeded to walk out with him and Tazuna.

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO!**

* * *

They all walked out of the village, backpacks fastened onto their back. Naruto had a bright expression etched onto his face. "Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed ecstatically while they were departing. Hinata couldn't help but smile at his eagerness, he seemed so excited. It was very nice to see him so happy.

"And I'm really suppose to believe that I'm going to be safe with this brat around?" Tazuna questioned, and it effectively crushed Naruto's good mood.

He growled. "You're damn right!" he argued. "You're saying that as if someone is gonna actually get past me, I'm gonna be Hokage one day gramps!"

"_Dead_ is what you'll be, if that's how you really think." Tazuna countered.

Naruto was just as ready with his own comeback, but Kakashi spoke before he got the chance. "Alright, _enough_ of that. We're not doing this the whole journey there."

"What about half the journey?" Naruto asked, laughing at his own joke. His face frowning up when no one acknowledged it.

Kakashi had asked Tazuna a few questions about Wave country, and he appeared happy and willing to answer every one of them. The Land of Waves had many rivers running through it and was quite famous for its mangroves, which were filled with all kinds of lifeforms. Though an isolated island, relying on shipping for commerce and trade, it was very prosperous.

The residents collected bundles upon bundles of varying fish from the various rivers that ran through the land using large fishing boats, which served as their source of food and as well as their main shipping product. Though with Gatou setting his sights on it and eventually taking control of the land, many of the fishing boats had been forced to ground; monopolizing the island's shipping industry. Their trade shipping line had been cut off, and anything they needed for food they were forced to buy from Gatou. They were in a very unfortunate situation. Which was why the bridge being built that would soon connect them to the Land of Fire was so important to them. It would help in making things better. All in all, it was clear that their bridge _had_ to be completed.

Things had been okay for a pretty long while, everything had rolled around virtually smoothly. Though Hinata, naturally, was still quite worried, so she had to ask. "K-Kakashi-sensei, we won't be encountering enemy shinobi on this mission will we? In Wave country?"

"No," Kakashi confidently answered. "The land of waves doesn't have its own hidden village, unlike most other countries. Besides, this is only a C-rank assignment. We're simply taking Tazuna home, watching him until he finishes his project, and then we're finished." he explained. "There's nothing you need to worry about Hinata, we'll all be fine."

Just at that very moment, they were ambushed by two men. One jumped out after the other, both throwing chains at Kakashi very quickly. As soon as they'd wrapped around their sensei, the rouges pulled hard on them. Then that was it for Kakashi, visibly frightening Naruto, Hinata and Tazuna.

As soon as they were through with him, they turned their attention to Naruto. Who only stood there, shaken and frozen with fear. Hinata wanted to do something, but Sasuke acted before she got the chance.

He threw a kunai at the chain that was headed Naruto's way, knocking it off it's coarse before it could touch the blonde. The velocity from the weapon made the chain get stuck to a tree, the kunai lodging deep into the trunk and holding it there.

Sasuke smirked, flipping into the air and kicking them both hard in the face. That knocked them both away, only for them to quickly recover. One going straight for Naruto again, the other going for Hinata.

This time, Naruto was very quick to react. Effectively dodging the chain that was thrown at him, and making six shadow clones. They all grabbed the rogue's chain and yanked on it, making him fly forward far enough for Naruto to land a punch on him. Causing him land hard on his back.

Naruto and his clones all threw kunai and shuriken at him, all of them piercing his clothes—cutting him up in the process—and lodging themselves into the ground. The missing-nin struggled, trying to free himself from his restraints, but to no avail. He was stuck.

Hinata's Byakugan was activated, dodging out of the way of the enemy's claw. He lifted it over his head and brought it down quickly, but Hinata leaped off to the side. Resulting in his weapon now being stuck in the forest floor.

She swiftly kicked his arms up and away from it, and hurriedly jabbed some of his chakra points before he could react in any way. He grunted, feeling pain shoot through his body, and Hinata gave him a chakra filled push through his torso. Knocking him away and into Sasuke. Who kicked him in the back, causing him to fall forward. Taking the chance to strike him in a pressure point on the back of his neck, successfully knocking him out cold.

Everything was quiet, save for the Genin's heavy breathing. Hinata was breathing the heaviest, she was also shaking. The fear and adrenaline still pumping fiercely through her veins, she couldn't even believe she did that. She just ... acted, she was in the face of danger and her first concern was for the safety of her team and Tazuna.

"... What the hell just happened?" Tazuna questioned in confusion, but nobody answered. Sasuke turned to Hinata.

"Are you alright?" She nodded her head.

"Y-Yeah," She was slowly recovering from it all, then she thought about Kakashi. She gasped loudly, catching Sasuke by surprise and gaining Naruto's attention. "Kakashi-sensei! W-Where is h-he? W-What—"

"I'm fine." Kakashi said, jumping down from a tree. "And I've gotta say, you all handled that situation very well. I thought I would have to jump in." Hinata sighed heavily in relief, glad that her sensei wasn't dead.

"So, you were testing us then." Sasuke noted. "You wanted to see if we could handle them on our own."

"And you did, very fine job everyone." Kakashi complimented again, then walked over to the ninja who was nailed to the ground. He squatted down, grabbing the rogue's head and forcing him to look at him. "_Talk_, don't make me ask you again."

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO!**

* * *

Kakashi secured the knot to the rope, leaving the two rogues tied up. Someone would come to arrest them later. Kakashi turned to everyone. "Is anybody hurt?" Fine time for him to ask a question like that.

"I-I'm okay," Hinata answered, then looked up at the bridge builder. "Are you alright, Tazuna-san?" He nodded, and Kakashi turned to the Uchiha boy.

"Sasuke?" He nodded, then Sasuke looked at Naruto. Awaiting his response.

"Yeah, I'm alright." Naruto answered, then turned to his sensei. "Why did you just watch the whole time? Those guys could've killed us!"

"I observed their manner of movement and their battle patterns, they weren't the best at taijutsu at all. Judging from their reflexes, coordinated attacks, strategical know-how, and how they were able to disguise themselves as a water puddle of all things I could also conclude that they were low level chuunin. A higher rank than you all, but nothing you can't handle if you pull together." he explained.

Naruto blinked, Kakashi was very ... observant. "Wow," he said, causing Sasuke to glance at him again. The trickle of red down Naruto's hand caught his attention, watching as the blood dripped onto the ground.

"Your hand," Sasuke said, making everyone look his way. "you've got a gash on your hand.." Naruto lifted it up, gasping a little when he saw his blood trickle down his arm. Hinata gasped as well, stepping closer to him.

"Naruto-kun, a-are you alright?" she asked nervously, hoping it wasn't as bad as it looked.

"I ... I don't know, I feel like I'm okay—"

"You're not." Kakashi interrupted. "You're hurt, we'll have to turn back to Konoha and get you to a hospital."

Naruto's eyes widened. "What? You've gotta be kidding, I'm not turning back around! Can't you just wrap it up now?!" He didn't want to have to go back and cut this mission short.

"Naruto, they cut you with one of their gauntlets. Those weapons were poison laced, if we don't get you back to Konoha soon it'll spread. That cut needs to be opened and drained before it kills you." Kakashi calmly explained, hoping Naruto would listen to reason.

"I-I think sensei is right, Naruto-kun ..." Hinata attempted to convince him, with the smallest of smiles. "We should head back to the village and get you t-treated as soon as possible. Being poisoned is very serious." She hoped he would listen, just as much as Kakashi had.

But she, as well as the others, was caught off guard. When Naruto quickly pulled out a kunai and stabbed his hand, making the blood flow out quicker. Obviously getting the toxin out in the process, "N-Naruto-kun?!" she squeaked out, in a mix of worry and shock.

"I said I'm not going anywhere!" he exclaimed. "You think something like this'll slow me down? I'm gonna protect this old man and that's that, I don't care _what_ gets in my way!" He held out this bloody fist. "I won't let anything bring me down, I'm seeing this mission to the very end."

Hinata blushed a deep red. _'Naruto-kun... he's so brave, how i-inspiring.' s_he thought as she stared at him. Sasuke could even admit to himself that Naruto was pretty determined, even if he could be an idiot sometimes.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. _'He seems to be taking this even more seriously than before, that's good. After that fiasco we'll all need to.' _Because it was clear now that there was more to this mission than what Tazuna had informed the Hokage. "While that's all fine and good Naruto—you've gotten the poison out—you'll die from blood loss if you keep bleeding out like that."

Naruto was immediately thrown into a panicking state, while Kakashi attempted to make him calm down. Explaining that it wouldn't help his condition any. Hinata suddenly realized something, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small cylinder shaped container. "I t-think I've got something that can help!" she said, jogging up closer and offering it out to Kakashi. "It's a medicinal cream that I created myself, there are a lot of herbs and healing ingredients inside. It should help heal Naruto-kun's wound."

Hinata untwisted the cap and held it out closer. Kakashi scooped some of it up, smearing it on Naruto's gash. Then only a few seconds later the skin and muscle began to mend itself back together, healing rapidly. "Well, would you look at that, your medicine works very well Hinata." But, it was the Kyuubi's chakra healing him, it was best to just cover it up.

She nodded, her cheeks pink. "T-Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." she said, politely bowing her head.

"Should we start moving again, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked.

"In a minute." He turned to Tazuna, "There's something you aren't telling us."

"W-What?" Tazuna stammered out, beginning to grow nervous.

"Don't try to play innocent, had this been a real C-rank we wouldn't have encountered those ninja. Why were they targeting us?" It was true, any escort mission is simply that: an escort. If someone was following Tazuna then there was something he wasn't saying.

Tazuna stared nervously at them all before he sighed, fessing up. There'd been more to the Gatou situation than he'd told. He'd now explained to them that his take over had bankrupted all the people of the country, and that the only way to revitalise the economy was by building a bridge to Fire country that could render moot Gatou's shipping monopoly. That was the only way to drive him away. However, Gatou did not want that to happen, and he responded by hiring shinobi gangs to assert his control. If they didn't back away, Gatou was going to have those gangs take care of the bridge builders for him.

"So you lied to Hokage-sama, there are ninja after your life yet you requested a C-rank." Tazuna nodded, feeling guilty. Kakashi directed a hand at his students. "These three are Genin, that's the lowest level a ninja can be, they're beginners. They haven't even been ninja a full month yet." he explained, his eye narrowing dangerously. "And now they've all been put in danger because of what you've done."

The maliciousness could be heard clear as day in his voice, and it had struck the three of them in slight surprise. They've never heard Kakashi sound so ticked before.

Tazuna's mouth fell open a little. "I-I ... please, you must understand, our land is very poor. I couldn't have afforded anything higher, we desperately needed the help. I didn't think ..."

"Didn't think you'd get kids as body guards? You asked for a _C-rank_." he clarified. "There are ninja who are trying to kill you, this isn't just a simple escort mission anymore. We're in danger as well now since we're your guards, this is now at least an A-rank."

_'I-I don't like where this is going ...' _Hinata thought to herself, they definitely weren't ready for something like this.

"A-rank?" Sasuke repeated, that did sound dangerous. "Exactly how much danger are we in now?"

"A lot more than we thought before." Kakashi answered. "If this mission is A-rank, that means this is now life or death."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Always remember that Naruto Wikipedia is you greatest friend folks, you just need it.

Not a lot of NaruHina interaction this chapter, but you don't rush these things when you want them to be good.

I feel like I took Sasuke's thoughts in a weird direction, in a direction that didn't make complete sense at certain parts. Wow, but I don't know how I would fix that... guess I'll just leave it. (It has been tinkered with, and now all is fixed. Thank you **Yomamma3**)

I always thought Tora was a boy cat, maybe because the fact that there's a ribbon tied to his ear coupled with that is a little funny to me. It's probably a girl, but I just got that "I'm a boy" vibe from that psycho cat.

I swear I don't intentionally make these chapters this long, lol it just happens!

Also, I get that people probably don't like the wave mission much and they're tired of reading it in fanfic, but I don't plan skipping over it at all. Mostly because it was an important one to the team, it showed them the true reality of the ninja system and what it meant to be a shinobi.

Hope you enjoyed reading!


	4. Chapter four: Demons

**Author's note:** This time, all I have to say is that I again thank all the new guys. And for the reviews left, I appreciate you. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd get thirty reviews on a chapter, wow.

**Beta'd by:** Renting

_© Anime by Masashi Kishimoto_

* * *

**Chapter Four**

_Demons_

* * *

So much time had gone by in their journey: at least five more hours had passed, and by now the sun had begun to set. It was growing dark, and it had been best for them to begin setting up camp for the night. On missions as dangerous as this one, it was unwise to travel during the nighttime.

The ninja had all been exhausted, as they hadn't gotten enough rest after their farm-aiding mission (coupled with their attack from the Demon Brothers). Tazuna was nearly just as tired as they were; being a civilian, not to mention old, he hadn't the same amount of energy as the four shinobi. His feet ached.

While there wasn't much light out, even less with all the trees blocking the sky, there was thankfully just enough for them to set up. A ninja of Kakashi's level could easily set up during the darkness of the night, but not as tired as he was. The same couldn't be said for the genin; even if they were wide awake, tired or not they'd stumble around and bump into each other.

Camp set up had gone very simple, Kakashi called his students to attention and gave each of them very simple jobs. His own was to set traps around their perimeter as well as find food.

Naruto created at least four shadow clones to help unpack and clear their camp area of any debris, while he himself set out to collect firewood. As he searched around, he picked up any twigs, sticks, and little branches he happened to come across on the ground. He could've simply broken off tree branches (this way he could have stayed on the camp site) but he hadn't the energy for that type of work.

At their camp, Hinata had pulled out a kunai to begin digging a fire pit. She stabbed it into the forest floor and wrenched it up, making dirt fly. Then she merely cut away at the sides to expand it while digging at the hole a tad more to make it deeper. Kakashi informed her that she didn't have to worry about being careful; he could easily remold the ground with an earth technique and remove any traces of the little trench being there. That had been a relief for her, as she remembered being taught that all ninja should never leave clues of their presence behind — the only exception was if it were intended, and that should only be in the cases of attempting to fool someone.

Sasuke had returned with many rocks to set around the trench hole for the fire pit, and positioned them all in place.

When Naruto finally returned with all but what he thought was more than enough firewood, his clones had cleaned up nicely. All of their supplies and sleeping bags had been laid out in a pretty neat fashion, and for that he thanked them all before dispelling them.

He then walked over to his other team members, putting all of his branches and sticks into the trench hole. Sasuke stared at it for a second before he began to pick out certain ones and toss them to the side.

Naruto looked at him curiously, maybe even a tad offended. Was he trying to say he didn't properly collect the firewood? "What are you doing?"

Sasuke glanced up at him, picking up a dry and old looking twig. "These older looking ones will burn better, rather than the ones that recently fell."

Naruto tilted his head. "Why's that?"

"Because," Hinata began, "fresher wood that's been out in the open for a long time absorbs a lot of water. They wouldn't burn correctly, or even for that long. Plus, there would be more smoke than any actual fire." She picked up an old, dry stick from the pile. "Where as these older pieces can burn for quite a long time, because of how dried out they are."

"Ooooohhh..." Naruto said. It wasn't as if he'd been thinking of that while collecting. Wood was wood; to him, there was no difference in how it burned. "Wow, you're a lot smarter than I thought, Hinata."

She didn't really know how to take that, as his comment could've gone in two directions. He could've meant it as she was even smarter than he originally thought, or that he'd thought her dumb and her "smart" answer surprised him. She at least was hoping he didn't mean the latter, so to save herself from hurt feelings she went with the former. In doing so, her cheeks turned a little pink, though it was too dark out for anyone to take any real notice. "T-Thanks, Naruto-kun."

After Sasuke picked out the bad wood, he made the handseals for the Fireball technique, and took his time in igniting the wood and making a nice bonfire. "Thank you again, for helping me make the bonfire Sasuke-san," Hinata thanked him.

"Hn," he nodded. "It was nothing." They had no matches to use, but it hadn't been a set back in the slightest. Sasuke was their human torch, after all.

Kakashi had returned from trap setting and hunting, a few dead rabbits and birds in his hands. "Well, you all set up very nicely. I'm impressed. Well done," Kakashi complimented them, walking over to the fire pit. "Good job with the fire."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," said Hinata. Sasuke nodded his head.

Kakashi sat down on the ground and removed a kunai from his pouch, ready to skin and gut the animals. "H-Hey, wait a second!" Tazuna exclaimed, making Kakashi look up at him.

"What?"

"You're just gonna do that right now, here?" he asked, eyes wide.

"If it grosses you out, then turn your head." was all he said before starting to cut, cutting off Tazuna before the man had the opportunity to interrupted him any further. He couldn't have cared a damn if Tazuna were disgusted or uncomfortable with what Kakashi was doing; he was still just a little ticked at the bridge builder, courtesy of the new knowledge he'd given to them all.

Once that was finished and the animals were cooked, everyone ate, though it was a bit on the quiet side. Sasuke and Hinata just weren't very talkative, naturally, and there was a small cloud of tension around Kakashi and Tazuna. So, Naruto had actually been the only one speaking, asking Kakashi things like about how he caught the food and set the traps, to which he received short but correct answers.

But eventually even Naruto had given up. He was low on energy as it was; he wouldn't waste anymore speaking if no one else would even try replying.

Dinner was soon over and Kakashi explained that while his traps would slow enemies down or even stop them completely, not everyone would fall for them. So, for counter measures, the three of them would take turns keeping watch, once it was time to turn in for the night.

When it had gotten dark out, Sasuke was the one who volunteered to be first, claiming he wasn't as tired as the others, despite how one could clearly see the sleepiness in his eyes.

Hinata volunteered next, claiming ninja were more likely to attempt an attack on them in the early hours. The stillness of the night, when a shinobi's guard was down during sleep, was the perfect opportunity to attack. She could easily scout the perimeter with her three-sixty vision.

That meant that Naruto would be the last, to watch until sunrise. He could use an abundance of shadow clones to expand his watch, while making sure not to go out too far lest they mistakenly set off Kakashi's traps.

For each of them, night watch ranged from cold, to lonely, to downright uninteresting. But, due to its vast importance, any complaint was left unsaid.

The birds caught had been left untouched, for they were to be eaten for breakfast the following morning. Once they were well rested and fed, Team Seven packed up and put out the fire. Kakashi put the dirt back where it was with a jutsu, and had Naruto's clones scatter the rocks and any remaining sticks that weren't used.

Once Kakashi defused and removed all the traps he set up, they set off for Wave country again. "Hinata," the Hyuuga girl looked up, "activate your Byakugan, and keep a constant watch of our surroundings. No need for any more surprises," Kakashi ordered her.

"Yes, sensei." She nodded, then made the hand seal. The veins around her eyes bulged out, enhancing her vision immensely. "I don't see anyone at the moment. We're alone."

"Good," said Kakashi. "Hopefully it remains that way."

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO!**

* * *

An old looking, wooden paddleboat arrived for the five right at the coast to bring them all to the Land of Waves; more specifically, to the island that Tazuna lived on. There was fog everywhere around them, making it a bit hard to see anything with normal eyesight. But, with her Byakugan still on, Hinata could still see through the otherwise average mist no problem.

Naruto grinned. "This is so cool, I've never been on a boat before!" he shouted as the boat slowly made its way out of the fog. Hinata flinched a little from the sudden loudness of his voice, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes,

"Keep your voice down, you idiot!"

Naruto scowled. While he didn't take too kindly to being called such a name, he apologized anyway. "Sorry."

They carefully boarded the boat then set sail to their destination, going underneath a long bridge that connected to one of the other islands.

They had been sailing for nothing short of an hour before the fog had finally cleared up nicely and the sun was shinned brightly. The three Genin squinted their eyes at the brightness, shielding their eyes with their hand as they looked about. They were sailing in some pretty shallow water by the looks of it, and were surrounded by houses that edged out over the water as well as some fairly tall trees here and there.

"The bridge is just up ahead. It shouldn't be too far now..." the Boatman said as he easily drove the boat through the water.

The boat soon stopped next to one of the houses, allowing for them to get off. There was a walkway that would lead them away from the docking area. What struck Kakashi as odd, though, was the fact that the dock and walkway were completely empty, save for the boat that just dropped them off. He just would've thought there would be more people around, as the population for the area was large, considering the island's size.

They walked onwards, eventually leaving the docks and going into the housing district, which eventually lead them into the forest.

"Is, uh... is this where you live or something?" Naruto asked, and Tazuna looked back at him.

"No," he answered, shaking his head. "It'd just be much better for us to get off right here is all..." He walked up ahead with Kakashi, and the others followed closely behind.

It was then that Hinata caught a glimpse of them. Very far behind them were two figures. One leapt off in a separate direction before she could get a better look while the other kept moving forward. Hinata quickly spun around, catching everyone's attention. "Hinata?" She heard Kakashi speak. "What is it, do you see something back there?"

"Yes!" She nodded. "I spotted two separate chakra signatures, just now. One went one way and the other hid; I'm guessing he did so once he saw I was aware of his presence."

"It isn't anyone dangerous, i-is it?" Tazuna timidly questioned, hoping the answer would be a confident 'no'.

"I don't know," was what she answered. All the ninja shared a look with each other and pulled out a weapon.

"Stay alert everyone," Kakashi warned them as his team drew closer to the bridge builder, then glanced at Tazuna. "Try to watch your own surroundings as well. We might be your hired guards, but you can at least help do that."

Zabuza sneered at them from his hiding place. They knew someone was near. Damn Hyuuga was staring straight at him! He leaped out of the trees and landed directly in front of them, stabbing his sword into the ground as a way of lessening the force of his fall. He slowly picked up his head and stared at them with an evil and murderous glint in his eye, one that made all but Kakashi shiver.

"You folks look like you're a little far from home," he commented, eyeing their Konoha hitai-ate. Kakashi stepped in front of everyone, clutching his weapon and ready to throw it at any given time, if need be.

"We're right where we need to be," he said. "You're Momochi Zabuza, missing-nin from Kirigakure. Ex-member of the Seven Swordsmen and master of the Silent Killing technique." This caused him to chuckle.

"Well, someone's done their research."

"Silent … killing technique?" Naruto repeated, his stomach churning nervously.

"Who are the Seven Swordsmen?" Sasuke questioned.

"The Seven Swordsmen were an organization made up of only the greatest blade wielding shinobi of their generation. The very best that Kirigakure produced," Kakashi explained, all the while keeping his eye on Zabuza.

"You're not the only one who's got knowledge here." Zabuza straightened up from his crouched position. "You're Hatake Kakashi, shinobi of Konohagakure. Famed as 'The Copy Cat Ninja' for the Sharingan that resides in your left eye, and is well known for being the man who's copied over thousand techniques."

The three Genin gasped, looking at their sensei in pure shock, Sasuke being the most surprised. So that was why he kept that eye covered? "A thousand techniques..." Hinata trailed off. That was quite impressive. But it was widely known that the doujutsu was only possessed by an Uchiha. Kakashi was clearly not of such blood. So how could he have had something like that?

"I'm guessing I'm right, judging from your expressions," Zabuza chuckled.

"What's a Sharingan?" Naruto asked. Sasuke pressed his lips into a thin line.

"_The_ Sharingan is a doujutsu, a visual one, that resides in the eyes. It allows the user to see and comprehend any genjutsu, ninjutsu, or taijutsu used by their opponent and then use it against them. It also has the power to predict the opponent's attacks, so they can either copy or evade them. It can even warp you in a powerful genjutsu, the level of which depending on how much one has mastery over the Sharingan." The look that Zabuza was giving them—the maliciousness in his eyes—told Sasuke exactly how much danger they were in, and his body seemed to tense up at once.

Hinata's stomach clenched, and she began to shake.

Naruto on the other hand, without truly realizing just how dangerous and homicidal this man was, seemed to only grow excited. He was itching to get a fight started, feeling it was his time to finally shine. However, a mentality such as that was sure to get him killed one day; it was grouped within the same category as underestimating the enemy. You just don't do it.

Overconfidence and ignorance were bad enough on their own, but together they proved to be overkill. Protecting Tazuna was their main objective, not seeing who could prove themselves. Naruto had to remember that.

"Pretty insightful, that one is," Zabuza pointed out before ripping his blade from the ground, making dirt fly everywhere. In a way it was as if he were subtly showing him just how much damage he could do with it. "But, lessons aside," he pointed Kubikiribouchou at Tazuna, "I'll need you to had over the old man. Maybe I'll even let you live, if you comply right away." (He wouldn't, even if they did, solely because that wasn't how he operated.) "Better to do things the easy way."

"I'd prefer not, if it involves giving Tazuna to you," the copy-nin replied, causing Zabuza to chuckle darkly.

"Hard way then? Fine by me," He pointed his sword at Kakashi, "Because now that I get down to thinking about it, if I remember correctly, back in the Assassination Unit of the Hidden Mist we had a standing order to destroy you on sight, Hatake Kakashi." He gripped the hilt of his sword tighter. "This fight will be all the more sweeter."

That was no surprise to Kakashi; the Assassination Unit's missions were nearly nothing more than assassination jobs (hence their name). They were almost similar to Konoha's ANBU with regards to such assassination jobs as well as tracking and surveillance, the difference being that ANBU did more than simply kill people. That was actually one of the things they did the least, as it wasn't often ANBU had to search for a defected Konoha ninja. Such jobs were usually aimed at people who were high level threats to Konohagakure.

The Assassination Unit consisted of Kiri's fiercest and most ruthless shinobi, the ninja who could get assassination jobs done better than no other. While a fairly large organization, they were sent off individually, as it would only take one to take out a group of enemies. They, for all purposes, were a band of mercenaries who were not to be fooled with.

In most cases, its members were chosen by the Mizukage, and in others it wasn't uncommon for a swordsmen to find themselves grouped into the organization as well. Kakashi was a world renowned shinobi with enough skill and jutsu to possibly take them out one by one, though not in the course of a day obviously. This, coupled with his being known as a strong ninja, would show the shinobi world just how powerful the Assassination Unit was if they ever got their hands on him. It would do wonders for the levels of intimidation other shinobi would feel towards the organization.

Kakashi lifted his hitai-ite to his forehead, revealing his supposed Sharingan, shocking Sasuke even further. He didn't know what to think of it; it was good since that gave them a higher probability of getting out of this alive. But … it was an _Uchiha_ clan bloodlimit, and Kakashi was no Uchiha.

_'Where could he have gotten that from?'_

"And there it is. It'll be such an honor." It was difficult to see if Zabuza was being sarcastic or not. "Guess this means we're through with speaking." It was just as odd, with Zabuza's formality. He was speaking quite civilized for someone who aimed to destroy them.

"That's right, we are," Kakashi said.

Naruto clenched his fists as he stepped forward. "Alright, you're going down—"

"Not so fast Naruto." Kakashi stuck his arm out, stopping the jinchuriki. "This is someone far out of your league. Leave him to me."

Naruto blinked, then furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean 'leave him to you'? What are we suppose to do, watch the bridge builder?"

"Precisely," Kakashi answered. Surprisingly Zabuza only stood there, patiently waiting until their argument was complete before thinking of making a move.

"How is that even fair?!" Naruto demanded. Kakashi's eyes narrowed. If Zabuza wasn't an S-rank criminal, then he was a very high A-rank. Either which way, he was something deadly. He wasn't going put a bunch of rookies in danger, and said as much.

Naruto's shoulders sagged. "What happened to all that stuff you said about teamwork? Even the greatest of ninja can't do anything on their own, right? Isn't that what you said?" That was what he said…

" … This is different."

"Different _how_? How are we suppose to be the well functioning Team Seven you want us to be, if you can't even trust us to have your back, Kakashi-sensei? We might just be kids, but we can hold our own when we work together!" That was true, having been proven by their victorious brawl with the Demon Brothers. They definitely were starting to understand what it meant to work as a team.

But this was a little different, starting with the fact that Zabuza was far more lethal than those other two. Kakashi was now a little torn.

He sighed. "Watch my back," Kakashi ordered. "_I'm_doing the bulk of the work, so try not to get in too close and only attack when you see a safe opening or when it looks like I may need a hand."

Naruto's face brightened some, before his turned serious once again. "Got it!" Once that was said, Kakashi hurled his kunai at Zabuza. It whizzed quickly through the air, but Zabuza used his large blade to block it, causing it to ricochet off and into the ground. He smirked.

_So it begins then._

He latched Kubikiribouchou onto his back and leaped away, landing on a nearby tree branch, and formed his desired hand seals. "Water release, Hidden Mist technique!" It was then that a very large and thick fog surrounded the group, nearly blinding them.

"I can't see anything!" Naruto said in surprise, frantically looking around.

Sasuke squinted, but it was very little help. He still could barely see. "What is this?"

"The Hidden Mist technique," Kakashi answered. Even he had some difficulty seeing through it. Due to the mist being induced by a jutsu, it was all chakra laced, and that was a problem for the Sharingan due to it viewing chakra in colors. And given that the mist's thickness was controlled by the amount of chakra put into it, Zabuza must have used quite a lot, making it almost blinding to Kakashi. But to keep the fog up, Zabuza would have to continuously input chakra. Since he could only put in so much while using other jutsu, it would let up at some point, but by then it might be too late.

"Hinata!"

"Y-Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata answered, her guard still up, without looking his way.

"Your Byakugan, is it still on? How well can you see?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes i-it is, I can see just fine." That was a relief, but it was also no big surprise. The Byakugan was the only doujutsu that couldn't be fooled by such a technique. As it was able to see chakra in all nature, not just in colors, she was the only one who could still see clear as day.

"Good. You'll have to be my eyes for a minute and help me keep a look out for Zabuza." She nodded.

"Right!" All fell quiet as the group—minus Hinata and Tazuna, who had found a hiding spot—were listening intently. If they couldn't see him, their best bet was to hear him. They couldn't just put all the detection work on Hinata.

"Eight points total," Zabuza's voice echoed throughout the fog. It seemed to be everywhere at once. "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, sub clavian artery, kidneys, and the heart. Now, which will be my attack point?"

Hinata's eyes flickered up to the trees when she saw he was nowhere on their ground level, only having to scan for a mere second before spotting him. She threw her own kunai at him, but he leaped away before it touched him, the result was it digging into a tree. Her eyes widened. "Above you, sensei!"

Kakashi quickly lurched to the side just as Zabuza's blade came swinging down, crashing into the forest floor as he landed where their sensei had been standing. Kakashi swiftly swung his leg around for a kick, but Zabuza blocked with his forearm. Ripping his sword from the ground, he swung it at him again. "Duck!" Hinata exclaimed, and Kakashi did just that. The huge sword whizzed right over his head.

Zabuza growled in annoyance, jumping away from Kakashi and going straight for Hinata. She gasped when he lifted Kubikiribouchou up and swung it down, but she dodged it just in time. With two fingers on each hand, she swiftly aimed for certain chakra points on his arms. However, since he moved to lift his blade over his head again, she missed and jabbed him in the chest instead, causing pain to shoot through his torso.

He horizontally swung Kubikiribouchou in an attempt to decapitate her. He missed when Hinata leaned backwards, but she was sucker-punched in the stomach when she came back up by his elbow. Her eyes widened from the sudden impact, not expecting such a blow. "Gah!" All the wind was knocked out of her and she skid back, clutching her stomach in pain.

"Hinata?!" Naruto yelled he ran forward, making a handseal and spawning at least a dozen clones. All of them charged and dog piled the swordsman before he could do any further damage.

While Zabuza was busy with the clones, Sasuke quickly but carefully helped her up. "Are you alright?" he asked.

She weakly nodded, coughing and still holding her stomach. "I-I'll be f-fine…" she murmured.

"-off!" Zabuza exclaimed as he slashed away at the final clone, causing it to disappear in a wave of smoke. He looked at Naruto. "You brats are beginning to be a real pain in my ass!" He raised his sword, preparing to strike down Naruto, but Kakashi was immediately in front of him and caught his arm.

"Your fight is with me!" Kakashi shouted, and Zabuza yanked his arm back. Naruto rolled out of the way just as he swung the blade down at Kakashi. The copy-nin turned out of the way and jumped away. Zabuza followed after him.

Naruto watched as they both disappeared in the thick fog. Only the sounds of a fight told him they were still near. He stood up and went straight for Hinata and Sasuke. "Are you okay, Hinata?" She only nodded.

"Where's K-Kakashi-sensei?"

"Fighting with Zabuza,"

"How can he see him?" Sasuke inquired. "Hinata's the only one who can see through the jutsu."

"We need to help him," Hinata quickly said, straightening up. "The fog is still too thick ... he'll need assistance."

"You didn't actually think we'd sit back after that, did you?" Naruto questioned, crossing his arms. "Are you all right enough to move?" She nodded. There was only a dull pain now.

"Yes, you two should go up ahead. I'll guide you." They both nodded in understanding, rushing forward with Hinata right behind them. She quickly alerted them before they'd gotten too close to Zabuza, prompting them to come to a halt and scatter away from each other.

Kakashi jumped further away from Zabuza, until they both stood on a body of water. The missing-nin began making handseals and Kakashi quickly began to copy him. Zabuza's eyebrows furrowed when he noticed and he sped up, only prompting Kakashi to do the same. '_Power of the Sharingan...'_

"Water release," they shouted simultaneously, "Water Dragon technique!" Two large dragons twisted out of the water, each attempting to go for the other man, only to run into each other and disperse. With all of the water falling over them, the fog noticeably thinned out a little.

"That's a bit better," Kakashi muttered to himself.

"You really are a copycat..." Zabuza said, grabbing the hilt of his sword. "That pisses me off!" He swung at Kakashi and cut him right in half. Zabuza smirked, but then froze when 'Kakashi' turned into water and fell into the lake.

He felt a cool piece of metal press against his neck from behind. "Really now?" Kakashi asked, tightening his grip on the kunai he held. "I suppose that's too bad." He dug it further into the skin and yanked it, effectively slicing Zabuza's throat, only for 'Zabuza' to turn into a water puddle just as Kakashi had.

"He's behind you, Kakashi-sensei!" he heard Hinata yell in the distance. He jumped away on reflex, narrowly missing Kubikiribouchou. Zabuza's eyes narrowed and he turned around towards the direction of which her voice came, only to be punched in the face by Kakashi.

"You should be paying more attention," the silver haired man teased. Zabuza chuckled as two water clones rose from the water behind Kakashi.

"So should you..." Kakashi was confused on what he'd meant by that, until he heard Naruto. "Shadow Clone jutsu!" he yelled. Twice the number of clones he'd made before all ran towards the water clones when they saw they were about to make a move towards Kakashi. "You're going down!" they all yelled, attacking at once.

Hinata and Sasuke both rushed over to aid their teammate, leaving Kakashi for Zabuza. "No more distractions," Zabuza said. Kakashi said nothing, only pulling out some shuriken and hurling them at him.

He used Kubikiribouchou deflect them all, sheathing the blade on his back before entering into a taijutsu battle with Kakashi.

The water copies had destroyed at least half the clones Naruto had made, though the blonde boy only made more to replace them as the fight with the water clones raged on. Sasuke dodged out of the way of one clone's sword, swinging his arm out for a punch, only for his fist to be caught. The clone lifted his blade over his head. "Goodnight, kid." He began to hurl it down, but Naruto tackled Sasuke out of the way, causing the copy to miss.

"We need to get these things out of the way," Naruto said. Sasuke nodded.

"I know." He watched Hinata fight the second clone with some of the Naruto copies before staring at the first Zabuza clone, who stared right back. "I don't think it'll be easy."

"I know," Naruto said, then looked over at Sasuke. "But they're just copies. They can't actually be as strong as him, right?" (They weren't; one water clone alone has one tenth the strength of the caster. That strength being evenly distributed between both, meant that they had even less power than average.) "Plus, they're only trying to distract us from Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza." He punched his open palm. "You go low, I got high?"

Sasuke nodded again and they both charged, Sasuke sliding down to sweep Zabuza's legs from under him. However, the clone jumped up and away. Naruto hopped right over Sasuke and ran straight for the missing-nin. "Take this!" he exclaimed, reeling his fist back for a punch, only to strike the clone's sword when he protectively brought it in front of him.

Naruto winced, then attempted to foot sweep him like Sasuke had, but Zabuza jumped up, dodging it just as before. Sasuke ran for him, kunai in hand, chucking the weapons at him one by one. Zabuza dodged out of the line of fire easily, but Sasuke had been forming handseals as soon as he'd launched all his kunai.

"Fire release: Great Fireball technique!" He fired a giant ball of fire from his mouth, effectively hitting the clone as well as Naruto by accident. Sasuke's eyes widened. He was going to yell out until he noticed it popped away along with the other.

It was only a clone … he thought that had been Naruto. He shook his head, then went to help Hinata and the real Naruto.

The last of the clones popped away and Naruto was thrown back, landing onto Hinata and making both fall into a pile. He rolled off of her and lifted himself onto his hands and knees, quickly apologizing to her before glaring at the clone. He watched Sasuke quickly approach and engage battle with it before standing up himself.

He held a hand out for Hinata, and she took it, albeit shakily. Normally her cheeks would've turned red from the physical contact, but this was no time for that.

"Sasuke got the other one. What's going on with sensei? Is he losing?" Naruto asked.

Hinata looked in the direction of their sensei and squinted. She could just barely see what they were doing; having had her Byakugan on for quite a long time now, it was putting a strain on her eyes, and it was becoming a bit difficult to really make anyone out. They had to finish this soon.

"Kakashi-sensei's alright," she said, just as Sasuke tumbled over to them, skidding on his back. He propped himself up on his elbows and bared his teeth, glaring daggers at the clone. Naruto finally dropped Hinata's hand as she went to help up the Uchiha.

"It's three against one," Sasuke pointed out. "We can take him out."

"Let's do it then!" Naruto exclaimed, making a hand sign and spawning more clones. "That jutsu of yours is really starting to annoy me, you little brat!" Zabuza said, swinging his sword at the new, fast approaching hoard. He got most of them, but a few leapt out of the way and latched onto his legs, back, and arms, weighing him down.

"Get off me!" he exclaimed, trying to knock them off. He managed to knock the ones off one of his arms, then began punching at those remaining. Sasuke pulled out a kunai and threw it at the Zabuza clone while Hinata ran straight to him. He simply leaned sideways and out of its way. Hinata skid to a halt in front of Zabuza and thrust her palm out, aiming for his chest, though the blow was blocked by his arm and hit a Naruto clone.

He held his arm out protectively in front of him, causing Hinata to knock away some more of the clones by mistake. He could now lift Kubikiribouchou, "That's better," he said, swinging at her.

She ducked down, feeling the air from the heavy swing swish over her head. More clones came over for the purpose of distracting him long enough for Hinata to attack, and attempted to subdue him even more. Though he only began to destroy those just as he did the others, the Hyuuga leaped off and around him, sneaking up from behind.

Most of those copies had popped away, and he only just noticed Hinata was no longer there. He narrowed his eyes. "Where did-" He was cut off by a hard blow to his back, and was reduced to a puddle of water. Hinata sighed, deactivating her Byakugan and rubbing her eyes. Sasuke and Naruto jogged up to her.

"Good job Hinata!" Naruto said.

"The fog got thinner," Sasuke pointed out, before Hinata could utter a thank you. "It's a lot easier to see." Sasuke was right: while the air was still thick, they were able to see well enough to know where their target is.

"There's sensei!" Hinata said, pointing at Kakashi and Zabuza. They seemed to have moved further away and were standing on a medium-sized body of water.

Kakashi and Zabuza leapt away from one another, both quickly straightening up. Kakashi watched him closely, "I can see any move you make before you make it, Zabuza. You can't fool me."

Zabuza sneered underneath his bandages, and lifted his hands. Kakashi did as well, and the both of them started throwing handseals at the same time, though Kakashi was a little faster. "Tiger, Ox, Monkey, Rabbit, Ram, Boar, Ox, Horse …" they called out the signs as they made them, "… Bird!"

Kakashi initiated the jutsu first. "Great Waterfall technique!" A stream of water rose from his feet, swirling in a circle as it quickly grew in size. The same happened on Zabuza's end, the difference being the Sharingan user released his before his opponent could gain the opportunity. The swirl of water morphed into a wave, pushing towards Zabuza and crashing down onto him. It washed him back onto land and he leaned onto his side, coughing fiercely as he tried to breathe through his wet bandages. His eyes were closed, but when he cracked one open, the other one followed, wide with fear. Kakashi was charging him, kunai in hand.

"And now you die!" he shouted, prepared to throw it. But suddenly, a rain of senbon shot from the trees, landing right in front of his feet. He stopped immediately. He looked up just as somebody jumped down, landing in front of Kakashi in a squat. The rest of the team arrived just as this new arrival stood up.

"That'll be quite enough..." said the person. His words were non threatening, almost gentle.

"Who are you?" Kakashi demanded, holding up his weapon. Naruto and Sasuke both readied themselves in case of another fight, while Hinata reactivated her Byakugan.

"There is no need to be alarmed," the person said. "I am a hunter-nin from Kirigakure." Kakashi nodded, but only lowered his arm a little.

"I recognize your mask …"

"What's a hunter-nin?" Naruto asked.

"We hunt missing-nin from our village. It's our job to dispose of such traitors," the 'hunter-nin' explained. "This man is my target. You've played with him far enough."

Zabuza, who had gotten back to his feet, narrowed his eyes. "Hey!" he snarled. "Just what the hell do you think you're do-" He paused when more senbon pierced his neck, in spots that made his whole body go cold and numb. The missing-nin fell to the ground, unmoving. All was quiet, the hunter's arm still outstretched while the others stood there in surprise.

This person was quick.

"W-What did you... do to him?" Hinata asked.

"I killed him," the hunter-nin replied simply.

"... He's…" Sasuke began. "He's dead? Just like that?"

Naruto muttered a quiet 'no way' to himself while Kakashi shook his head in near disbelief. "There's no way you could've killed him that easily."

"If you don't believe me, then have a look for yourself," the hunter-nin dared him, turning to the silver-haired jounin. Kakashi glanced at him cautiously before slowly making his way over to the 'dead' man.

Hinata stared at Zabuza's body. When a person died, all chakra flow came to an immediate halt. But she could still see Zabuza's. It made her heart jump nervously. Kakashi leaned down and pressed two fingers to the man's neck, checking for a pulse. He felt none. "He's—"

"Still alive," Hinata said. Everyone stared at her in wonder while the hunter-nin tensed up. "His chakra is still circulating through his body—"

"Because I will dispose of his body _elsewhere_; he is currently in a deathlike state. I merely said he was completely slain to avoid any complications," the hunter explained. "As I said, he's my target, not yours. I would be risking quite a few things if I killed him right here, with you all around." He (Him? Her? It was hard to tell, given the long robes, mask, and gender natural voice) walked over to the body, and Kakashi stepped out of the way, allowing the hunter-nin to sling the limp Zabuza onto his back.

"I will bring him to a different location and finish the job there." he gave them a respectful nod. "I bid you farewell." And with his goodbye being said, he vanished with Zabuza, leaving Team Seven alone.

"... What the hell was that?!" Naruto shouted. It was unbelievable to him just how sudden that had been.

"A Kirigakure hunter-nin completing his task, apparently." Kakashi was at odds with what had happened, but he didn't have time to go too deep into it as his head spun and he began to sway. He fell to his knees, his hands out in an attempt to prop himself up.

"Sensei!" Naruto and Hinata both exclaimed as the three rushed up to him. "Are you okay?" Naruto asked while Hinata placed a hand on his back. Kakashi felt woozy, faint, and weak all at once, and he knew he wouldn't be able to stand on his own. These signs pointed towards severe chakra fatigue; he was lucky he was even conscious at the moment, though he was teetering towards passing out.

"I'll be alright," he finally replied, then turned towards Naruto. "Where's Tazuna?"

"I think he's still hiding," Hinata answered.

"I'll get the old man," Naruto said, and he jogged away.

"Kakashi," Sasuke said, prompting the masked man to turn his way. "Zabuza and that hunter-nin … should we go after them or what?"

Kakashi's gaze flickered to the ground. In his current condition, it would be risky. He wouldn't be able to fight well, and Tazuna would never be able to keep up with their speed. That, coupled with the hunter-nin's speed, would make it hard to catch up. Kakashi sighed.

"No," he answered, "We need to focus on the task at hand." He waved at Sasuke to help Hinata stand him up, and the Uchiha complied. "Getting Tazuna home is our first objective. We can't get side tracked," he explained as both the Uchiha and Hyuuga each wrapped an arm around their shoulders, taking on Kakashi's weight.

"I … again, I'm sorry," Tazuna apologized once he and Naruto regrouped with them. "All of this happened because of me and my desire to live. I didn't consider your safety…"

"Don't worry about it," Kakashi said as he was turned over to some clones Naruto made. "We're all still in one piece. For now, we still need to finish the first part of this mission and get you home, Tazuna." Tazuna pressed his lips together and nodded.

All of them set off once again, though at a slightly slower pace. Hopefully, there would be no more conflict.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Rehashing is something I'm trying to avoid, but I'm also trying to change things _believably_. So hopefully I'm doing at least a decent job.


	5. Chapter five: Training

**Author's note: **Thank you for favoriting/following/reviewing! Left you hanging too long, I know (my apologies). Had to take a school hiatus (I still posted oneshots yes, though only because those don't need updates).

_© Anime by Masashi Kishimoto_

* * *

**Chapter Five**

_Training_

* * *

One of Naruto's clones shifted uncomfortably, then carefully repositioned Kakashi's arm on his shoulders. "Geez ..." he muttered. "You're heavier than you look!"

"I bet he's probably making us do all of the work," the other clone grumbled.

An amused smirk spread Kakashi's face, his mask blocking it from view, as he pointed out, "I thought your job was to help me walk, not complain." To this, both clones stuck out their tongues.

"Do you feel any better, sensei?" Hinata asked him, genuinely concerned. "Even just a little?"

"I'll be frank, Hinata." Kakashi craned his neck around to look at her. "I don't feel much better than I did earlier. I'm still pretty weak."

"We'll reach my home soon," Tazuna stated. "You'll have plenty of time to rest up there; it shouldn't be much longer."

Kakashi nodded in response.

The real Naruto turned around to look at Sasuke, who was a bit behind, and ceased walking. Letting everyone else go ahead, he fell into step with his raven-haired teammate. "What's up with you?" he asked curiously.

Sasuke glanced up at him before looking back down at the ground. "Nothing. I was just ... thinking."

"About what?"

"Earlier," Sasuke answered. "It was pretty convenient how that hunter-nin just so happened to show up when Kakashi was about to finish off Zabuza."

Naruto blinked. "Well, yeah, he's a tracker isn't he?" He shrugged. "I don't really see what the issue is with that."

"Don't you think that's a bit too coincidental?" Sasuke fully faced the blonde. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I don't know. I could be wrong, but I feel like something wasn't right about that situation. Especially when he left with him." That hunter lied about killing Zabuza on the spot to avoid 'complications' of what kind? He could understand the hunter-nin having a liable reason for not killing him right there, but he just didn't see why that couldn't have been said in the first place.

Naruto crossed his arms, looking up at the sky. "Yeah ... maybe. But he said Zabuza was his target, and that he had to go finish him somewhere else, right?" He looked back to Sasuke. "He said he would be risking stuff if he killed Zabuza right in front of us."

"Stuff like what?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't even know what a hunter-nin _was_ until earlier."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Maybe we should ask Kakashi-sensei?"

"Naruto, Sasuke!" they both heard Kakashi shouted, making them freeze in sync as they looked ahead. The rest of their group had stopped walking as well, and were glancing back at the two. "Can you pick up the pace?" he asked, and Naruto nodded. He jogged up to them while Sasuke only walked, and once both were caught up they continued on their way to Tazuna's home.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said. The older man turned his attention to him.

"Hm?"

"Sasuke and I were talking about that hunter-nin," he started, catching Sasuke and Hinata's attention. "You seem like you know more about that stuff than we do, so how come it was so important for him to move Zabuza to a different location to kill him?"

There was a long pause as Kakashi thought about it. "It shouldn't have been," he finally said. Naruto looked a bit confused.

"Wait, I don't get it." He scratched his head. "He said he_had_ to, though. Isn't that what ninja like that have to do when other people are around or something?"

"No, that didn't seem very right," Kakashi said as he shook his head. "I didn't think of it at the time, but now that you bring it up, a hunter-nin is supposed to kill, then dispose of their target's body on the spot. No matter who may be around. In basic terms, by destroying their body, they're destroying any information it might hold. This is why it can't be moved anywhere because they run the risk of it being lost or even stolen. The only thing they actually need to leave with is their target's head, and that ninja took his entire body ..."

"And hunter-nin don't do that?"

"Under no circumstance do they ever," Kakashi replied. "Not only that, the weapon he was using is also questionable."

"How?" Hinata asked, now joining the conversation.

"While senbon could be deadly, they're hardly ever used to actually kill," Kakashi explained. "But when they are, they're used to hit vital spots on the body. That hunter deliberately aimed at Zabuza's neck."

Hinata nodded. "To put someone in a death-like state, you need to hit the pressure points in the neck," she pointed out.

"But that's something he shouldn't have had to do if he was truly a hunter-nin," said her teacher.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "So he wasn't a real hunter-nin then?"

"Possibly not," Kakashi said. "That being the case, that would also mean that Zabuza may still be alive."

Tazuna visibly tensed up at this. The old man had been praying Kakashi (or any of them) wouldn't say something of the sort. Kakashi turned to face Hinata. "As a matter of fact ... didn't you say you spotted someone else when Zabuza was approaching?"

Hinata gasped, her eyes widening. "Th-That's right! The one that hid!" She had gotten so wrapped up in their brawl, that little detail slipped her mind.

"So that's it then," Kakashi concluded. "That hunter had to have been the one who was hiding. He was waiting for just the right moment to make his appearance."

"So was he waiting for a chance to save him or something?" Naruto asked.

"More like jump in if things escalated too far," Sasuke corrected him. "If they're on the same side, I doubt he would've just let Kakashi kill him."

Naruto clenched his fists. "Damn it!" he cursed. "We should've gone after them. I can't _believe_ we let that guy get away with him!"

"That's a fool's move, Naruto, and you know it," Kakashi sighed, glancing at him. "That's a fight we wouldn't have won."

"Kakashi-sensei's right, Naruto-kun," said Hinata, trying to ease him. "T-Try not to worry too much right now."

"That's a lot easier said than done," Sasuke muttered, redirecting Hinata's attention to him. "Not only is that missing-nin not actually dead, we now have to deal with someone we don't even _know_anything about."

Kakashi's eye narrowed. What they knew at the moment was very vague. "That's true." He looked around at the group. "This could be even deeper than what I'd thought. We'll discuss this more at Tazuna's home, in private."

The three nodded, agreeing with their sensei.

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO**!

* * *

The front door of Tazuna's house opened, revealing a blue haired woman who smiled as soon as her eyes fell onto the old man. "Otou-san!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around him. "You made it back! I was worried something happened!"

"You didn't have to worry about anything like that, Tsunami," he said, hugging her back. He nodded at the four ninja. "At least, not when I've got them watching my back."

"Oh!" she said, finally taking notice to them. "You all must be the ninja guarding my Otou-san. My name is Tsunami."

"Hinata," the Hyuuga said, bowing slightly. "It's very nice to meet you."

"Sasuke," the Uchiha muttered.

She looked at the three different Naruto, tilting her head in slight confusion. "I'm Naruto!" the blonde standing up front said, putting his hands behind his head.

"And I'm Kakashi." The copy-nin gave her a nod.

"Wonderful!" Tsunami said, clasping her hands together. "You all must be very tired; it's a very long way here from Konoha." She stepped out of the doorway to let them all inside before shutting it once they were.

"I don't know about them, but I sure am," Kakashi said.

"I'll lay down a futon for you!" she stated, jogging to a separate room to gather some sheets and blankets.

"You can come lie down in here," Tazuna said, opening a nearby door. The room beyond proved to be quite spacious. There was no bed, but there was a big window, a desk, and even a bathroom. "Not much of a room, but it's enough for you to rest in."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, this will do just fine."

"My shoulders hurt..." one of the clones complained. "Can we put him down yet?" Both Hinata and Sasuke took Kakashi from them and helped him stand, allowing the copies to stretch after so long.

"That's better!" the other clone said.

"That also means that your job is done," Naruto stated. He dispelled the jutsu, making his duplicates disappear with a "pop".

"Here it is," Tsunami said. The futon and some blankets were draped over her arm, and a pillow was in her hand. "It took some digging around, but I found it. We haven't had to pull this out in quite some time." She quickly set the bed up before standing and facing Kakashi. "Do you need any help lying down?"

"Oh no, that's all right," he replied with a wave of his hand. "These two have got it." With that said, Sasuke and Hinata both walked him over to his makeshift futon and carefully sat him down.

"Is there anything else you might need then?" She was being very polite, but then again, they were keeping her father alive.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, but thank you. For now I just need to talk with my team."

"Oh, yes!" Tsunami said, heading for the door. "If any of you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask me."

Tazuna went to leave too.

"Tazuna," Kakashi called after him, prompting the old man to stop. "You stay; this concerns you too." Tazuna nodded, shutting the door instead of leaving. He sat along the wall next to it, while the kids of Team Seven sat around their teacher. Kakashi sighed. "So... Zabuza's still alive, and he's got an accomplice," he stated.

Hinata shifted her gaze to the ground. "This is bad ..."

"So what exactly does that entail for us, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked.

"This isn't the last time we'll see the both of them," Kakashi answered. "That I know for certain." He leaned forward, folding his arms in his lap. "Zabuza is an assassin; he isn't going give up until Tazuna is dead. And the other one ... While his skill level is still unknown to us, judging by the little he did manage to demonstrate ... I fear he might be more than a match for you all."

"What?" Hinata's eyes widened with shock. How could Kakashi deduce something like that? How could that be so?

"But how?" Naruto asked, not believing it. "We all saw that kid; he can't be that much older than we are!"

"Naruto, you'll come to learn that, in the ninja world, there can be people younger than you, yet stronger than even me."

Sasuke clenched his jaw, immediately drawing his brother as an example in his mind. Itachi had been captain of his ANBU squadron, and at only thirteen years old. If he was that strong then, he could only imagine just how much stronger he had to have gotten by now.

Hinata glanced over at Naruto and Sasuke, her gaze staying on Sasuke when she noticed his demeanor. He was tense, and the look in his eyes was ghostly, like he was off somewhere else. That worried her a little. "Sasuke-san..."

It apparently was enough to bring him back from the depths of his mind, and he turned to silently look at her. She almost asked if something was wrong, but didn't; he would have said something first if he wanted to discuss it.

She turned back to Kakashi. "Um, sensei?" she asked. "You said that Zabuza is an A-rank assassin, c-correct?"

The copy-nin nodded. "Yes, that's right Hinata."

"Well then, how come he didn't just kill us all?" she quietly asked. Naruto looked at her, just the slightest bewildered at her question. Why even wonder when she should be thankful they all got out of that alive?

Kakashi pondered her question. "What exactly do you mean?"

"What I mean is, Zabuza's goal is to kill Tazuna-san," she said. "He was clearly stronger than the three of us, and even you seemed like you struggled with him a little. I just feel like it doesn't make much sense ..."

"What's hard to understand about the fact he's trying to kill me?" Tazuna asked with plenty of bitterness lacing his tone.

"Aren't you alive, old man?" Naruto retorted, and before the bridge builder could reply Kakashi asked, "What doesn't make sense?"

"The fight in general, I suppose. I feel like that was just too easy, like he wasn't even fighting us at his full strength. It's almost like ... like he wasn't fighting to kill us." She couldn't help but slightly wince. It sounded silly when said out loud; assassins always fought to the death. That was how they were taught to battle.

"She has a point," Sasuke said. "When he used that jutsu to hide himself in all that mist, none of use could see him except Hinata. That right there was his opportunity to strike us all down, but instead he chose to toy with us."

"So, you're saying he wasn't even trying?" Naruto asked. "Like he was just assessing our skill levels?"

Sasuke shook his head. "We're obviously only rookies; if he was trying to figure out anybody's skill, it was Kakashi's."

"That's a good deduction, you all," Kakashi complimented. "But I don't think that's quite it. Zabuza had knowledge of my abilities prior to our battle because of him being a former member of the Assassination Unit."

"Then why?" Naruto asked.

"Simple; that fight could have very well been a warning to not get in the way of his mission," Kakashi explained. "Zabuza's intentions were very clear. And, like Sasuke pointed out, he had opportunity to get us all out of the way immediately, yet chose not to go that route. And that partner of his … why have him hide up in the trees instead of fighting us as well if he was truly trying to eliminate us? Clearly he didn't see any reason to show us his power if there was no intention to end our lives. So he hid instead, waiting to remove Zabuza from the scene once the time came. It was an opportunity for us to walk away."

"Wow," Naruto said. "That makes a lot of sense."

"Not to me," Sasuke growled. "I don't see why he would have to give us a warning if he could've just gotten his mission out of the way. Why would he do it?"

Kakashi hummed, crossing him arms. "I suppose that's quite a puzzle, isn't it?"

"Is it possible that Zabuza has a reason to not carry out his mission quickly?" Hinata asked. "Maybe he let us live not to give us the chance to back down, but because he isn't in any rush to take any of us out."

"Why would he wanna do that?" Naruto scratched his head. "That guy's only got so long before that bridge is complete. If that happens, then his shipping company will totally fall apart. Why take the mission if Zabuza would just risk it all go to the pits like that?"

"There could be something in it for him too, a deal they struck perhaps." Kakashi pointed out. "_If_ that's what it is, he most likely doesn't trust Gatou to complete his end of the deal once he's done his own." He rubbed his chin. "I'm sure Gatou informed him of the time sensitivity, but certainly shady men like him are never trustworthy. By Zabuza holding off on killing Tazuna, he would be forced to enact his end of the agreement first or risk losing his company." He rubbed his chin.

"Maybe Gatou has information on him or something!" Naruto said with a sort of excitement. "What if he's using blackmail?"

"I doubt that." Kakashi shook his head. "Had that been the case, I'm sure Zabuza would have just killed him instead."

"So whatever it is he needs, he needs Gatou alive for it," Sasuke summarized it all.

"That's what it looks like."

"But couldn't Gatou catch on to what Zabuza's doing?" Hinata asked.

"Not if he can blame us for the delay," said Sasuke.

"So what now?" Naruto asked.

"Tazuna can't be left alone, so one of us will have to be by his side at all times," Kakashi ordered. "During the night, each of you will take shifts and keep watch over the house while the rest of us are asleep. Just like when we camped out in the forest."

"So what do we do about Zabuza when we see him again?" Sasuke said.

"Nothing!" a new voice exclaimed from the doorway. It was open, and a young boy about nine years old was standing there.

"Inari! There you are!" Tazuna beamed. "These are the nice people that protected your grandpa. Come in and say hello."

Inari shook his head. "Gatou's too strong for you, it's all useless. You don't even know what you're getting yourselves into!" he shouted. "All you're doing is throwing your lives away. You're all just gonna die, don't you get that?!"

"As for Zabuza, it's best to just leave him to me this time around." Kakashi answered Sasuke's question.

"Hey! Stop ignoring me! I said —"

"We _heard_ what you said!" Naruto interrupted him. "If he's too strong, then fine. We'll just have to get stronger!" He glared at the young boy. "I'm sure as hell not gonna run from him. I ain't no _wuss_!"

_'A real ninja fights till the end ...'_ Hinata thought, remembering Naruto's words from their bell test. It made her a little more determined to see this through successfully.

A sour look passed across the little boy's face. "Who do you think you are? Some kind of hero? Well I've got news for you: heroes aren't _real_! You better leave now, or else you're gonna be killed."

Sasuke scoffed. "If we leave your grandfather is going to die."

Inari froze, staring at Sasuke with a stricken look before making a break to the stairs. As soon as they heard a door slam, Tazuna sighed. "I'm very sorry about my grandson. Gatou's take over has had quite an affect on us all."

Hinata frowned. Children his age usually believed in such things as heroes, and they certainly didn't say or think the things he did. What could have happened to kill his spirit like that?

"Well, we're gonna show him. I can tell you that," Naruto snarled. "When we beat Zabuza and Gatou into the dirt, we're gonna prove that there _are_ such things as heroes." To Naruto, they were no doubt about it; in their line of work, there were always going to be people who needed saviors, just as there were also going to be villains causing destruction. Ninja were practically exactly that. He would see to it that he was that as well.

Sasuke, however, didn't believe in such silly things, but he did believe in not cowering away. No matter how out of your favor the odds appeared. This world was one of a 'dog eat dog' nature: if you threw in the towel, then your life came to an end simply put. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. What Inari tried to fill their heads with completely went against that, and it undoubtedly ticked him off.

Hinata kept a strong hold on Naruto's inspiring words. While the thought of having to face Zabuza again frightened her, she had to give it her all. If they worked together, then they could do it.

"Well, now that that's done, I think we should discuss your training regiment for today," said Kakashi.

"Which is ..." Naruto trailed off, encouraging their teacher to finish.

"A chakra exercise," their sensei declared. "Tree walking to be exact."

"Tree walking?" asked Hinata.

"Yes. It's a training method used to boost your skills in chakra control. You're using only your feet to climb instead of your hands by focusing a fixed amount of chakra into your soles and sticking yourself to the tree. If the stream of chakra is too weak, you'll lose your footing and fall off. If it's too strong, you'll break the tree around the point of contact, force yourself away from it, and fall off again," Kakashi explained. "The key is to keep your chakra consistent and smooth. Then you shouldn't have much issue."

They all nodded. "When do we begin, sensei?" asked Hinata.

"Later. I need to rest for right now to get some of my strength back." He was about to lie down, but then he paused. "I just remembered. Naruto?"

"Yeah?" the blonde asked.

"How long can you sustain your clones?"

Naruto crossed his arms, thinking hard. "Ehh... I don't know." He shrugged. "I can usually hold it up for a pretty long time. It's super easy. I barely even have to concentrate on it." He blinked. "Why'd you ask?"

"I'm going to need you to leave some clones here at the house before we leave, just to watch over Tsunami and Inari while we're out and to accompany Tazuna to the bridge."

Naruto beamed. "Gotcha!"

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO**!

* * *

Kakashi stood on a crutch, while the rest of Team Seven stood in front of him. They were back in the forest just outside the docks. "I've already explained the basic mechanics to this technique, but now I'm going to show it to you." He hobbled over to a tree. "Watch my feet closely."

They all did as such, seeing a light blue glow on the bottom of is soles despite not using the Ram seal to concentrate his chakra as normal. He stepped even closer and began to simply walk up, as if he were still on the ground.

"Whoa," Naruto gasped. "That's so cool!"

"Yes, it is," Kakashi agreed. He was now standing upside down on a thick branch.

"That doesn't look too hard," the blonde said.

"Well, don't let looks fool you. I'm a pro at this," he chuckled. "It isn't as simple as you might think. Trees are very easy to walk on due to their tough surface, and the fact that they stay in one place. Your chakra control is what makes it tricky."

"Because it's hard to focus it on the feet?" Hinata asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Precisely. You also have to take into account the fact that trees aren't smooth. Tree bark is very uneven; there are gaps and chips everywhere. So you would need to fill them in with your chakra to keep a firm grip on the tree. Understand?"

Hinata and Sasuke nodded, while Naruto said, "Yeah, I guess."

"Good, but before you get started I want you to stick just one foot on the tree."

They all looked at him curiously. "But, you just said we had to walk," Hinata reminded him.

"Yes, I know. But at least this way you won't fall and hurt yourselves. Plus it's an easier starting point than with walking; you'll be able to really monitor how much you're putting in. Instead of focusing too much on staying attached," their sensei explained. "Just make sure you get a good grasp on the exercise before you attempt it." They all nodded and turned to the trees behind them. "Whenever you're ready."

They each placed one foot onto a tree and concentrated. Sasuke's stuck just fine, as did Hinata's. Naruto, however, split the bark around his foot. He staggered backwards in shock.

"That was too much Naruto," Kakashi sighed, shaking his head.

"Wait, I can get it!" he cried, placing his foot back on the tree again. "I just wanted it to stay on."

"Don't be so worried about detaching it from the tree," Kakashi told him. "If you remain concerned about it, you'll only end up putting in too much."

The bark around Sasuke's foot began to split. He dialed back his chakra input a tad to make it stop.

"You seem like you're doing a good job, Hinata."

"Hm?" She looked over her shoulder at Kakashi. "Oh, thank you Kakashi-sensei."

"How are you so good at this?"

Her cheeks turned pink at Naruto's question, and she looked down. "Um, I-I don't know. I guess chakra control is k-kind of easy for me."

"Lucky," Naruto muttered, then yelped when the tree split again.

"_Concentrate_," Kakashi urged him.

"I _am_!" Naruto exclaimed. Well, at least he was trying to. The vessel gave an irritable sigh. "Can't we just start the actual walking?"

"Well, that depends," the copy-nin replied. "Would you rather get the hang of this and make tree walking easier? Or start now and fall on your head multiple times?" This little foot practice wouldn't take long to understand, not even for someone like Naruto. The boy just lacked patience.

"Make it easier..." he muttered.

Kakashi smiled. "Well there you go. Now no more complaining."

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO**!

* * *

Each student had a kunai in hand as they stood readily in front of their tree. Kakashi was now back on the ground, sitting down underneath the one he'd climbed earlier. "Whenever you're ready," he said, just as he did before. They each took off.

Naruto surprisingly made it up a good distance — it wasn't very far, but still good for a first try — before the tree broke beneath him and he lost his footing. He made certain to slash his tree before painfully landing flat on his back. Sasuke made it up a bit father, though the very same thing soon happened to him. He made his mark on his own tree before back flipping and landing on his feet.

Hinata, unlike her teammates, managed to run very far up with little to no issue, and sat herself up high on a branch, peering down at them all. She felt heat rise up to her face when they began to look at her.

"Whoa, Hinata! How'd you make it all the way up there?" Naruto exclaimed, getting back onto his feet. Sasuke looked up in curiosity while Kakashi chuckled.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise. Very well done Hinata. I didn't expect any of you to get it down this quickly," he complimented her, causing her blush to darken. She muttered an inaudible 'thank you' while looking down at her twiddling hands.

Kakashi turned his attention back to Sasuke and Naruto, observing them as they gave it another try. He took notice to how Sasuke made it just a bit farther than last time, but Naruto hadn't made it past his last mark.

"Naruto," Kakashi called out. Said boy sat up on the ground, rubbing the back of his throbbing head. He turned to look at his sensei.

"Yeah?"

"Come here for a second."

Naruto frowned as he stood up. Kakashi could tell from the look on Naruto's face that he probably thought he was going to get a lecture on how "he wasn't doing it right' or how "he wasn't listening". The copy-nin was sure his academy teachers gave him talks like that quite often during his school days. "How do you think you're doing?"

"Okay, I guess." The blonde shrugged. He looked at his tree, staring at it, and his frown deepened when he saw how his second mark was a bit lower than his first. "I thought I started off all right, but this time wasn't so great." He turned back to Kakashi. "That foot thing probably helped me understand just how much of my chakra a tree can take, but I don't think I got it quite yet."

"Well, you certainly aren't going get it right away."

"Hinata did," Naruto muttered as the Hyuuga girl finally hopped down from her perch.

"Yes, she did. But you're not Hinata, are you?"

"No …"

"What if I told you there was a trick you could use to learn this exercise even faster? Something only _you _can do out of the three of you?"

This definitely peaked the young boy's interest. It even made him feel a bit special. "A trick? One only I can use!?" he shouted, unable to hold in his excitement. It caught Hinata and Sasuke's attention.

"Yes, no need to shout," Kakashi said, holding a hand up.

"Oh, sorry!" he quickly apologized, lowering his voice. "What's the trick?"

"Shadow clones," Kakashi answered.

"Shadow... clones?" Naruto slowly repeated. His titled his head like a confused puppy. "How are they suppose to help me?"

"Well, as you know, while it's similar to the basic clone technique, shadow clones are corporeal copies instead of just illusions. They're extensions of you that hold your thoughts, memories, and chakra circulatory system," Kakashi told. "Any experience that the clones gained while they're in existence is immediately transferred back to the user as soon as the jutsu is dispelled. That makes this technique ideal for many things, especially training."

"Because they're all learning it with me?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. In fact, the total amount of experience gained by the user is multiplied per clone that they use. For example: say you created one clone and trained with it for about two hours. As soon as the clone disappears, you'd have gained an extra two hours. So you would have four hours worth of training instead of just two. So if you were to, say, make about a hundred, this training would probably only take a few more hours as opposed to a few days. Any training that would normally take weeks, or even months, could be finished in a much shorter time with this trick."

Naruto beamed. Could it have really been that simple? "That sounds cool!"

"Yes, but it's also very harmful to the user," Kakashi warned him. "Not only is all the information passed back to you once they're gone, but so is all the mental stress from the training of each individual clone. However, due to the amount of chakra you possess, Naruto, you're probably the only one who can do this type of training without any negative effects."

"Sweet!" Naruto quickly made the hand seal for his signature jutsu, and after creating multiple clones, they all spread out in a hurry around the forest, except for one (who they assumed to be the original).

Hinata and Sasuke watched the Naruto that were in sight, but listened to the sounds coming from all directions: kunai cutting at the trees, thuds, pops (from some disappearing from impact), and yells.

They'd both overheard all of Naruto and Kakashi's conversation, and Hinata was left in complete awe as she watched Naruto attempt the exercise again._'Naruto-kun... really is something,'_ she admirably thought as she stared at him. He truly never failed to amaze her.

Sasuke gazed at Naruto as well, though his eyes held slight envy. Naruto was going to learn this technique within hours with the help of his clones, while Hinata could do it just fine after only doing it once. For him, however, it would probably be a few days before he got all the way up the tree, and that made him feel like he was behind the two of them. Sasuke's grip on his kunai tightened. He was really eating their dust right about now, and he didn't like it at all.

He turned towards Hinata, staring at her until she finally noticed him. She met his gaze, feeling a bit awkward about it. "Um... d-did you need something, S-Sasuke-san?"

"How did you get so far up the tree?" Normally he'd consider his pride before asking anyone for help, but he just had to know. "How did you get this so quickly?"

She blinked; she hadn't been expecting him to ask. "Oh, well, I already have good control over my chakra. It's an important factor for my Gentle Fist style." (You needed good precision with your chakra when using this fighting style because the amount injected into the opponent's chakra pathway varied depending upon the amount of damage one wanted to inflict. At least, that's what Hinata would've said if the Gentle Fist wasn't top secret).

_'That explains it,'_ he thought. "I have a question."

"Yes?"

"If you use your Byakugan, would you be able to tell me when I have enough chakra on my feet?"

She nodded. "S-Sure," she said, activating her doujutsu.

Kakashi was leaning against a tree and watching while Hinata assisted Sasuke. He smiled to himself. This was what he liked to see. Granted, he figured Sasuke only asked from feeling far behind, but they were helping each other out nevertheless.

"Right there," Hinata said, staring at Sasuke's feet. "That's all you would need." Sasuke grasped that continuing flow as Hinata's eyes returned to normal. "Remember to fill in gaps with it." Instead of giving a vocal response, he nodded his head, then turned around to run up his tree again.

"Hinata," Kakashi called her, catching the Hyuuga's attention.

"Yes, sensei?"

"You seem to have a good grasp on tree walking, so would you like to step up your chakra training a little?" He held up a hand. "And it's your choice; it's something that can be left for another time. I just figured I'd put it out there just in case you were interested."

She thought about it, and supposed it would hurt. She wanted to improve as much as she could; there was always room for it. "I guess so. I'll give it a try, Kakashi-sensei."

He stood straight up. "Good. Just follow me."

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO**!

* * *

They had moved farther out in the forest, and were now standing on the edge of a lake in a clearing. Hinata squatted down, staring at her reflection in the misty water before looking back at Kakashi. "Why did we have to come out here, sensei?"

"Because this training involves something much different than trees," he answered. "I'm going to show you how to water walk."

"Water walk?" Could she really walk on water? She looked back down at the lake. _'But it's so unsolid! Where would my attachment point be?'_ "B-But, how does that work?" she asked in disbelief.

"Basically the same as tree walking, except you use the repelling force from your chakra to stay on top of the water," he explained. "However, this is much harder than tree walking because the chakra needed isn't constant. It's always changing." The bottom of his feet glowed a familiar blue, and he stepped onto the water with ease.

Hinata took notice to the little splashes and waves that move under his feet with each step. "You're disrupting the water with each step you take. With it always moving under you, you need to either pull back or push out more chakra to adapt to the constant change." He took a few more steps forward. "I know that sounds difficult, but all you need to do is practice. Train enough, and eventually you won't even need to try anymore." He turned around and gave her a look that said, 'I'm waiting'. "Why are you just standing there?"

Hinata jumped; she thought he just wanted her to observe. "S-Sorry!" she apologized, and then focused her chakra. She stared at the water for a few seconds before placing one foot onto the surface. It almost felt just like the ground.

She tried walking, and managed to take two careful steps before beginning to wobble. "W-Whoa!" Kakashi wasn't kidding when he said it was hard.

"You're doing fine," the copy-nin encouraged her. "Try taking some more steps towards me." Hinata sweat-dropped; he made it sound like she was a toddler learning how to walk.

"O-Okay ..." she muttered. She took two more steps forward before one foot went underwater with a little splash. She yelped in surprise, then fell all the way in with a bigger splash.

Kakashi chuckled; he couldn't help but find it to be just a little amusing. "It was a good first try," he said as Hinata came back up, spitting out lake water and coughing. "You just need more practice is all."

* * *

**╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╭（′▽‵）╯ GO**!

* * *

Hinata sat on the ground, wringing out her coat after almost an hour of training. She wondered how the others were fairing. _'I bet Naruto-kun's doing really good.'_

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard him shout, "Hey, Hinata!"

"Ah!" she squeaked. She whipped her head around, and seeing the blonde approach made her jump up from the ground and throw her jacket back on, zipping it up with a furious blush on her cheeks. "N-Naruto-kun! You scared me!"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Oh yeah? Sorry about that."

Her blush died down, leaving her face slightly tinted. "What are you d-doing here?"

He shrugged. "I figured I'd take a break since Kakashi-sensei left for Tazuna's house a while ago."

"Then how did you know I was here? Did sensei tell you?"

"Yeah, I asked him. I wanted to know where you were," Naruto replied.

Her face heated up again. _'He wanted to find me!'_"You w-wanted to know where I w-was?"

"Heck yeah, I had to see you!" Oh, she could've fainted right there. "I wanted to know what this water walking stuff was all about. Kakashi-sensei told Sasuke and I about it after he came back." He pouted. "He didn't really go into detail about what it was though."

Well, that was a little disappointing. "Oh..." she murmured, stooping slightly to take in her feet.

"Yeah … so … can I watch you?" he asked.

"O-Oh!" She straightened up quickly. "Uh ... I guess so ..." They headed to the lakeshore, where Hinata gave a brief explanation of what water walking training was before demonstrating how it was done. Naruto watched closely as she stepped onto the water, carefully walking and wobbling around. "See?"

"And you've been doing that all this time?" He saw her nod, and he smiled. Naruto hadn't known a thing when it concerned girls; he especially didn't know anything about the ones from his class. But if he were to assume anything about them, he would think that they weren't fond of training since that usually involved getting sweaty or dirty. It would probably end in them complaining about how badly they needed a shower.

Hinata didn't seem like she cared, though, and he liked that. "You act just like a guy." he tried to compliment her.

"W-What?!" she sputtered, losing her concentration and falling into the water. She quickly resurfaced. "What?" she repeated.

"Sorry!" he quickly apologized after realizing how that must have sounded. "I mean you don't act like a girl —" he paused. "You're not girly, like Sakura-chan or something." He gave an awkward laugh. "I know if she was doing this, she'd probably freak out over her hair getting wet."

Hinata frowned. Did Naruto like girly girls? Was that why he liked Sakura so much? That idea upset her. "Oh..."

He blinked. Did he say the wrong thing? "You're not like her at all, or even Ino. You seem really different than the average girl overall, actually."

By now, Hinata was back on land. Beads of water were dripping off her hair and rolling down her frowning face. "Naruto-kun, I ... what are you saying?" He was confusing her.

He gave an irritable sigh. "I'm just — I think you're really _cool_!" he finally shouted, getting to the point. "You're different, in a cool way is what I'm saying."

Hinata gasped. He ... thought she was cool? Her heart sped up as she blushed all over again. "Oh—u-uh—" she stammered, glancing away and placing a surprised hand over her mouth. She almost didn't believe him; no one has ever told her anything of the sort before.

Naruto pursed his lips; Hinata couldn't have possibly taken that the wrong way. In case she somehow did, he decided to change the subject. "So uh, do you think I can give it a try now?"

She looked back to him and nodded, then carefully they both stepped onto the water. They simply stood, not walked. Hinata watched Naruto as he tried to balance himself.

He looked from his feet to her face, feeling her stare. And when he did she quickly looked away, embarrassed that he caught her looking. "Hey," Naruto said, trying to walk to her. It was hard balancing himself, but thankfully, she stood very close. "If I said something wrong, then I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

Her mouth dropped open, surprised he would think that. "Y-You didn't say anything wrong!"

"Then why are you—" Naruto cut himself off, losing his footing and falling into the lake. He grabbed Hinata in an attempt to hold himself up, but only pulled her down with him. When they both came back, Hinata coughed furiously, having breathed in some water by accident.

"Hinata! Are you alright?" Naruto asked after his own coughing spell ended. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pull you down too. It was an accident!" He reached out and brushed the bangs back that were hanging over her eyes. This made her freeze and turn red yet again. Her eyes went wide.

"What's wrong?" he asked, moving his hand down to her forehead. "Your face is really red—"

He was cut off when Hinata shrieked and knocked him hard in the jaw from an accidental reflex. When she'd noticed what she had done, she gasped. "Naruto-kun, I—"

**_Pop!_**

Smoke fanned around her, slowly disappearing into the air as she was left alone. _'A... a clone?'_ Indeed, it was only a clone. She had just been talking to one of his copies; it was apparently hard to tell whether it truly was Naruto or not.

She sighed. Climbing out of the lake, she removed her jacket and began wringing the water out of it again.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sometimes I think Naruto should have been told that "trick" sometime earlier on. Maybe not this early, but definitely some time during part one. He would have benefitted from that a lot. It isn't something he's gonna make too much of a habit of doing though.

Taking into consideration a review that was left, I made a change in the first chapter. One that was _very _minor. It won't effect the flow of the story in any way, so you don't need to go back and look at it. It was honestly only done out of respect for the reviwer.

Didn't how to end this chapter, so sorry if it was kind of flat.

Hope this chapter was worth the wait.


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